Polish Market No.9 (261)/2017

P U B L I S H E D S I n c E 1 9 9 6 SPECIAL EDITION

KazaKhstan - Poland Economic Forum

NursultaN Nazarbayev, President of KazaKhstan aNdrzej duda, President of Poland

EXPO AstAnA 2017

ASTANA

WARSAW

ASTANA

TRAVEL THE WORLD VIA WARSAW WITH LOT POLISH AIRLINES

ONTENT

8. From The President’s Press Office 9. From The Government Information Centre EXPO ASTANA 2017

11. FUTURE ENERGY EXPO 2017 – ASTANA

28.

TOMASZ PISULA, President of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) / ТОМАШ ПИСУЛЯ, председатель Польского Агентства Инвестиции и Торговли (PAIH): KAZAKHSTAN: TESTING POLAND’S EXPORT POTENTIAL КАЗАХСТАН: ТЕСТИРОВАНИЕ ПОЛЬСКОГО ЭКСПОРТНОГО ПОТЕНЦИАЛА

32.

12. ANDRZEJ ADAMCZYK, Minister of Infrastructure

Интервью Председателя правления компании KAZAKH EXPORT РУСЛАНА ИСКАКОВА: ПРИГЛАШАЕМ ПОЛЬСКИЙ БИЗНЕС К АКТИВНОМУ СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВУ С КАЗАХСТАНСКИМИ ЭКСПОРТЕРАМИ

14. ZHANIS KASYMBEK, Minister for Investment and

PIOTR STOLARCZYK, VicePresident of the Export Credit Insurance Corporation (KUKE SA) / ПЁТР СТОЛЯРЧИК, вицепредседатель Правления КУКЕ: EXPORT INSURANCE AS THE DRIVER OF TRADE EXCHANGE BETWEEN POLAND AND KAZAKHSTAN / СТРАХОВАНИЕ ЭКСПОРТА КАК ПОДДЕРЖКА ТОРГОВОГО ОБМЕНА МЕЖДУ ПОЛЬШЕЙ И КАЗАХСТАНОМ

and Construction: POLAND AS A REGIONAL TRANSPORT HUB/ АНДЖЕЙ АДАМЧИК, Министр инфраструктуры и строительства: ПОЛЬША КАК РЕГИОНАЛЬНЫЙ ТРАНСПОРТНЫЙ ХAБ

Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. / Приветственное слово Министра по инвестициям и развитию РК Ж. КАСЫМБЕКА: FOR KAZAKHSTAN POLAND IS ONE OF THE MAIN ECONOMIC PARTNERS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE / ПОЛЬША ЯВЛЯЕТСЯ ДЛЯ КАЗАХСТАНА ОДНИМ ИЗ ГЛАВНЫХ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ ПАРТНЕРОВ В ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЙ И ВОСТОЧНОЙ ЕВРОПЕ

16.

TADEUSZ KOŚCIŃSKI, Deputy Minister of Economic Development / ТАДЕУШ КОСЦИНСКИ, заместитель государственного секретаря, Министерство развития: GOOD PROSPECTS / XОРОШИЕ ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ

18. Ответы Заместителя Министра иностранных дел

Республики Казахстан РОМАНА ВАСИЛЕНКО на вопросы журнала POLISH MARKET: НАША СТРАНА ЗАИНТЕРЕСОВАНА В РАЗВИТИИ ДОЛГОВРЕМЕННОГО И ВЗАИМОВЫГОДНОГО СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВА С ПОЛЬШЕЙ, КОТОРАЯ ЯВЛЯЕТСЯ НАШИМ ВАЖНЫМ ПАРТНЁРОМ В ЕВРОСОЮЗЕ

34.

36. ПОЛЬША МЕСТО МЕЧТЫ 38.

TATYANA KORYAKINA, Associate at Domański Zakrzewski Palinka sp.k.: KAZAKHSTAN A SAFE PORT FOR BUSINESS?

40. POLPHARMA IS INVESTING IN THE DEVELOPMENT

OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY IN KAZAKHSTAN ПОЛЬФАРМА ИНВЕСТИРУЕТ В РАЗВИТИЕ ФАРМАЦЕВТИЧЕСКОЙ ПРОМЫШЛЕННОСТИ В КАЗАХСТАНЕ

42. BOŻENA LUBLIŃSKA-KASPRZAK, President of BRAD Management Consulting, BCC expert for enterprise and Innovation: POTENTIAL WHICH HAS TO BE TAPPED

44.

20. INFORMATION ABOUT ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN POLAND AND KAZAKHSTAN

MODERN AND ENVIRONMENTFRIENDLY BUSES IN WARSAW / НА ЭЛЕКТРИЧЕСТВО И ГАЗ СОВРЕМЕННО И ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКИ ПО УЛИЦАМ ВАРШАВЫ

23. NINA DOBRZYŃSKA, Deputy President of the

46. MARCIN CHLUDZIŃSKI, President of the Management

26.

ANDRZEJ KOZŁOWSKI, Vice-President of the Polish Cluster of Construction Exporters: KAZAKHSTAN A DEMANDING BUT PROMISING MARKET

Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) / НИНА ДОБЖИНЬСКА, заместитель председателя, Польское Агентство Развития Предпринимательства (ПАРП): KAZAKHSTAN THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTNER IN CENTRAL ASIA / КАЗАХСТАН ВАЖНЕЙШИЙ ПАРТНЕР В ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЙ АЗИИ

MAXAT KABASHEV, President of Kazakh Invest / Говорит Председатель Правления компании KAZAKH INVEST МАКСАТ КАБАШЕВ: KAZAKH INVEST A COMPANY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF KAZAKH BUSINESS... / KAZAKH INVEST КОМПАНИЯ ПО РАЗВИТИЮ КАЗАХСТАНСКОГО БИЗНЕСА ...

Board, Agencja Rozwoju Przemysłu S.A. (ARP): AN INDIVIDUAL APPROACH TO EACH PROJECT

48.

INDUSTRY

70. MACIEJ PROLIŃSKI: REMEMBERING POLISH LEGIONS

50. ANDRZEJ SOLDATY, AN INDEPENDENT EXPERT, FOUNDER OF THE

INITIATIVE FOR POLISH INDUSTRY 4.0: THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

71. MACIEJ PROLIŃSKI: OUTSTANDING UNIVERSAL VALUE

52. ROBOTIZED AND AUTOMATED SOLUTIONS IN SERVICE OF INDUSTRY 4.0

72. ADAM PIOTR ŻUKIEWICZ, A POLISH PIANIST: A WAY TO EXPRESS EMOTIONS,

GOOD PRACTICE

FEELINGS AND IDEAS

54. JANUSZ STEINHOFF, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF THE

73. AGNIESZKA ZIELIŃSKA, CONDUCTOR, PIANIST, GUITARIST AND

ECONOMY IN THE JERZY BUZEK GOVERNMENT: WE ARE FACING DIFFICULT DECISIONS

COMPOSER: MUSIC BRINGS JOY

74. MAREK MICHALAK, OMBUDSMAN FOR CHILDREN: WE NEED TO SPEAK WITH

56. WE NEED CONCRETE AND LONG-TERM DECISIONS

OUR CHILDREN, NOT JUST TALK AT THEM

58. MIKOŁAJ PLACEK, PRESIDENT OF OKNOPLAST GROUP: OKNOPLAST GROUP AN INNOVATION LEADER

FOOD INDUSTRY

76. TOM OBRACAJ, PRESIDENT OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD, TOM CAFFÉ:

60. ADRIAN FURGALSKI, DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD,

THE ARTISANS OF COFFEE

ZESPÓŁ DORADCÓW GOSPODARCZYCH TOR SP. Z O. O.: AMBITIOUS PLANS LIKELY TO BE DELAYED

78. UNDERGROUND LIFE THE SECRET OF HEALTHY VEGETABLES

64. PORT OF GDYNIA NEW PUBLIC FERRY TERMINAL CULTURE

81. ECONOMIC MONITOR

66. CULTURAL MONITOR 68. MACIEJ PROLIŃSKI: GREAT OPERA ATTRACTIONS

Cover: KAZAKH PRESIDENT NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV AND POLISH PRESIDENT ANDRZEJ DUDA DURING THE MEETING, WARSAW, 22. AUGUST 2016 PHOTO: PAP Photos on issue: www.shutterstock.com

9/2017 Publisher: Oficyna Wydawnicza RYNEK POLSKI Sp. z o.o.

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Finance

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek Editor-in-Chief President of Rynek Polski Publishers Co. Ltd.

SILK ROAD IT’S NOT A COINCIDENCE. IN HIS INAUGURAL ADDRESS TO FELLOW CITIZENS, DONALD TRUMP POINTED TO INFRASTRUCTURE MODERNISATION AS THE PREREQUISITE FOR AMERICA TO ACHIEVE ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND MAINTAIN ITS GLOBAL POSITION. CHINA’S PRESIDENT XI JINPING ANNOUNCED THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE TO BUILD INTERMODAL TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE BETWEEN CHINA AND EUROPE, INVOLVING MORE THAN 60 ASIAN, EUROPEAN AND EVEN AFRICAN COUNTRIES. CONNECTING EUROPE, IN TURN, IS A MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PROGRAMME LAUNCHED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION. It’s not an overstatement to call the last quarter of the century an age of globalised civilisation – globalised in capital, economic, technological, communications and cultural terms. The world saw the disintegration of the bipolar political-military order, the shift of the global manufacturing “centre of gravity” towards China and South-East Asia, and the rise of the European Union as the most economically powerful region in the world. As a natural consequence, new patterns of the division of labour and global raw-material supply and commodity exchange logistics have emerged. It’s anything but surprising for Poles and Poland – we have only just witnessed a major geographical reorientation of our economic ties. One of our key successes as members of the European Union has been the modernisation of our infrastructure, which enabled us to abandon economic autarky and engage in beneficial cooperation with new markets. Hence our interest in the Belt and Road initiative, including especially its northern alternative via Kazakhstan, as confirmed by top-level talks between, and declarations by, the Polish, Kazakh and Chinese Governments.

The public-relations strength of Belt and Road is that it draws parallels to the historical traditions of the Silk Road – an about 12,000 km-long land trade route which connected China with Europe for nearly 2,500 years. Ever since the times of Alexander the Great and the Han dynasty, the large state organisms which developed in this area showed a keen interest in the route and the benefits it offered. It wasn’t until the 16th century that sea transport rendered caravans obsolete – still, nothing lasts forever, does it? In our times, in addition to low-cost bulk cargo, a growing importance has been placed on agility, flexibility, delivery performance and diversified cooperation. Are we on our way back to the Silk Road, then?

There were quite a few Polish chapters in the Silk Road’s history. One of the most interesting of these took place in the 13th century. The man behind it was a Franciscan friar by the name of Benedict of Poland, Giovanni de Piano's secretary and interpreter, and delegate of Pope Innocent IV to the Great Khan Güyük of the Mongol Empire. His expedition began in 1245 in Lyon and advanced by way of Wrocław, Kraków, Kiev and Astrakhan to reach the then capital of the Mongol Empire – Karakorum – after 15 months. As they reached Karakorum, the Empire was holding a kurultai to elect the new Great Khan. Güyük Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, received papal envoys twice, dispatching them with letters urging the Pope and European rulers to pay homage to him. In addition to a confidential account of the visit for the Pope, Benedict wrote Historia Tartarorum – a treatise on the culture, languages and organisation of the peoples of the Far East. The insights it provided were much more reliable at the time than those offered by Marco Polo's Description of the World. In addition, the book unravelled the new northern path to China.

But this is not the only “Polish trace”. For instance, the scrupulousness of the Emperor's Chancellery in Beijing helped preserve correspondence (in Polish!) with a 17th-century state of a Polish nobleman Jaxa Czernichowski, located at the Russian-Chinese frontier near Albazino. There are also many Polish names (e.g. Czerski, Dybowski, Grąbczewski, Przewalski) among researchers of Central Asia and builders of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Also of note, the Polish colony in the Chinese city of Harbin had a population of about 10,000 in the early 20th century.

Our present interest in the Belt and Road Initiative comes way ahead of the official announcement of this concept. Efforts have been made for more than 20 years to establish a railway connection between China and the Polish town of Sławków with the westernmost broad-gauge railroad station which allows cargo to be transported to China without transshipment. However, with this project being stuck in a deadlock, an intermediate Polish-Chinese line was opened between Łódź and Chengdu. We are also increasingly hopeful of launching the very promising connection with Kazakhstan. As we enter negotiations on new projects, we can proudly say: “Poland has been on this Great Route for 770 years.”

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Editorial Kриcтина Вoжьняк-Тшoсек Глaвный редaктор Председатель Правления издательства Polish Market Sp. o.o.

ШЕЛКОВЫЙ ПУТЬ ЭТО НЕ СОВПАДЕНИЕ. ПРЕЗИДЕНТ ТРАМП В ИНАУГУРАЦИОННОЙ РЕЧИ УКАЗАЛ СООТЕЧЕСТВЕННИКАМ МОДЕРНИЗАЦИЮ ИНФРАСТРУКТУРЫ КАК УСЛОВИЕ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОГО ОЖИВЛЕНИЯ И СОХРАНЕНИЕ ГЛОБАЛЬНОЙ ПОЗИЦИИ АМЕРИКИ. ПРЕЗИДЕНТ КИТАЯ СИ ЦЗИНЬПИН ОБЪЯВИЛ «ONE BELT, ONE ROAD» (OBOR) - ИНИЦИАТИВУ ПОСТРОЕНИЯ ИНТЕРМОДАЛЬНОЙ КОММУНИКАЦИОННОЙ И ТРАНСПОРТНОЙ ИНФРАСТРУКТУРЫ МЕЖДУ КИТАЕМ И ЕВРОПОЙ, С УЧАСТИЕМ БОЛЕЕ ЧЕМ 60 СТРАН АЗИИ, ЕВРОПЫ И ДАЖЕ АФРИКИ. CONNECTING EUROPE, ЭТО, В СВОЮ ОЧЕРЕДЬ, ПРОГРАММА КРУПНЫХ ИНФРАСТРУКТУРНЫХ ИНВЕСТИЦИЙ, ОСУЩЕСТВЛЯЕМЫХ ЕВРОПЕЙСКИМ СОЮЗОМ. Последнюю четверть века можно с уверенностью назвать эпохой цивилизационной глобализации - капиталовой, экономической, технологической, коммуникационной, культурной. Произошли такие события, как распад биполярной военно-политической системы, перемещение мирового производственного «центра тяжести» в район Китая и ЮгоВосточной Азии, а также создание Европейского Союза как экономически сильнейшего региона мира. Следствием этого, таким образом, должно стать появление нового международного разделения труда, а также глобальных поставок материально-технического сырья и экономических связей. Полек и поляков не нужно в этом убеждать - только что мы испытали существенную географическую переориентацию наших экономических связей. Одним из основных успехов нашей принадлежности к Европейскому Союзу стала модернизация инфраструктуры, что позволило отойти от экономической автаркии и построить выгодное сотрудничество с новыми рынками. Отсюда наш интерес к инициативе ОВОR - особенно к ее северному варианту via Казахстан - подтвержденный переговорами и декларациями на наивысшем, президентском уровне Польши, Казахстана и Китая. Силой «One Belt, One Road» в сфере public relations является обращение к исторической традиции Шелкового пути - сухопутного торгового пути протяженностью маршрута около 12 тыс. км, связывающий Китай с Европой уже почти 2,5 тысячи лет. Со времен Александра Македонского и династии Хань следующие развивающиеся на этой территории огромные государственные организмы были заинтересованы в его функционировании и тем, чтобы черпать из него выгоду. Только в 16. веке эффективность морского транспорта победила купеческие караваны, но ведь ничто не длится вечно. В наше время, кроме низкой стоимости массовых грузов, все больше считается скорость, гибкость, оперативность и многогранность кооперации. А значит – возвращение на Шелковый Путь? В его богатой истории мы находим много польских страниц. Одну из интереснейших записал в 13.веке францисканский монах Бенедикт Поляк, секретарь и переводчик Джованни де Пиано, посланника папы Иннокентия IV к Великому Хану Монголов. Экспедиция началась в 1245 году в Лионе, чтобы через Вроцлав, Краков, Киев, Астрахань через 15 месяцев достичь тогдашнюю столицу монголов Каракорум. Как раз проходил там курултай, т.е. избрание нового Великого Хана. Хан Гиджук, внук Чингиз Хана, дважды принял папских послов, отпуская их с письмом, призывающим папу и властелинов Европы преклониться перед ним. Кроме конфиденциального отчета для папы, Бенедикт написал Historia Tartarorum - работу о культуре, языке и организации народов Дальнего Востока. Она дала современникам гораздо более довросовестные знания, чем позже распространенное Описание Мира Марко Поло и открыла новую – северную дорогу в Китай. Это не единственный «польский след». Например, благодаря кропотливости имперской канцелярии в Пекине сохранилась переписка (на польском языке!) с 17-вековым государством, существующим на российско-китайской границе в районе Албазина, польского дворянина Яксы Черниховского. Многие польские фамилии (например, Черски, Дыбовски, Громбчевски, Пржевальски) находятся среди исследователей Центральной Азии, строителей Транссибирской Железнодорожной Магистрали, а польская колония в Харбине в начале двадцатого века наcчитывала ок. 10 тыс. человек. Наш современный интерес к «One Belt, One Road» эначительно опережает официальный анонс этой концепции. Уже более 20 лет ведутся усилия, чтобы создать непосредственную железродорожную связь с Китаем из польскoго Славкова – наиболее западной станции с широкой железнодорожной колеей, позволяющей транспортировку в Китай без перезагрузки. Тупик по этому вопросу привел к открытию промежуточного польско-китайского железнодорожнoго сообщения Лодзь - Чэнгду. Все большие надежды мы связываем также с запуском очень перспективного сообщения с Казахстаном и, приступая к дальнейшим переговорам по проектам, мы можем сказать: Польша находится на Великом Пути уже 770 лет.

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President

THE ARMED FORCES DAY “The 15th of August marks the celebration of the great pride we take in our values, army, and attitude,” said President Andrzej Duda during the Armed Forces Day celebrations held to commemorate the victorious 1920 Battle of Warsaw.

President of Poland Andrzej Duda opened the Armed Forces Day celebrations by attending the Holy Mass for the Homeland. Next, the President and his Wife laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider and the Józef Piłsudski Monument. There, at the Józef Piłsudski Monument in front of Belweder Palace, the celebrations reached their climax, with the President awarding Lieutenant General, commander of United States Army Europe, Ben Hodges, a Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.

The President expressed his hope that Poland would manage to increase its military spending to 2.5% of its GDP by 2030.

“I firmly believe that Poland will manage to modernise and increase the size of its Army in a careful, sensible, well-planned and logical manner. I also believe that in the process we will stay united as politicians and that we will succeed in keeping the Polish Army united,” he stressed.

The celebrations concluded with a parade. The march-past of the subunits was preceded by an air parade involving more than 60 planes and helicopters. A total of 1,500 soldiers, including 900 in columns and nearly 500 in vehicles, marched past Ujazdowskie Avenue. A number of subunits and standard-bearers from allied and partner states marched along.

THE PRESIDENT CELEBRATES THE 73RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE WARSAW RISING 73 years ago, on August 1, 1944, on the order of Commander in Chief of the Home Army, General Tadeusz BórKom orow sk i , a rising broke out in Warsaw. This was the largest military operation of the underground resistance in the German-occupied Europe.

President Andrzej Duda began the commemorations by laying a wreath at the Monument to Victims of the Wola Massacre. The Wola

Massacre is considered to be the greatest crime against the Polish population during World War II. The massacre in the Warsaw district of Wola began on 5 August and continued until 7 August 1944. Mass executions inflicted a human toll of about 20,000 people on the first day alone. According to various estimates, 40,000 to 60,000 people from Wola lost their lives over these few days.

The President also paid his homage to the insurgents at the “W-hour” by laying a wreath at the Gloria Victis Monument at Powązki Military Cemetery. The commemorations were also attended by independencestruggle veterans, Ministers of the Polish Government, Prime Minister Beata Szydło, Members of the Parliament, and crowds of Varsovians.

The “W-hour” marked the formal beginning of the rising. About 40,000-50,000 insurgents took up arms on 1 August 1944. Initially planned to last a few days, the uprising continued for more than two months. About 18,000 insurgents died and 25,000 were wounded in battle. Civilian casualties were massive at about 180,000. After the rising, the 500,000 surviving Varsovians were chased out of the razed city.

DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE'S VISIT POLAND Between 17 and 19 July, Poland was visited by His Royal Highness William, the Duke of Cambridge, and Her Royal Highness, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. The Royal Couple started their three-day visit to Poland – their first visit to Central and Eastern Europe and to a non-Commonwealth country – with a meeting with the Presidential Couple. The Royal Couple came to Poland with their children – Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

The Royal Couple took a walk along Krakowskie Przedmieście Street, during which they met with Varsovians and tourists gathering around the area. Next, accompanied by the President and His Wife, they visited the Warsaw Rising Museum, where they met with Polish and British World War II veterans. Both the Presidential and the Royal Couples paid their homage to Warsaw insurgents by lighting candles at the “Monter” bell. Next, Duke William and Duchess Catherine attended a meeting with young entrepreneurs in the Warsaw Spire high-riser, where they participated in discussions on the cooperation between start-ups from Poland and the UK. The first day of the visit concluded with a banquet in Her Majesty The Queen's honour, held in Łazienki

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Park. The Polish Presidential Couple attended the banquet as honorary guests.

On the second day, the Royal Couple visited the former Stutthof Nazi concentration camp in Sztutowo, where they paid their homage to victims of Nazism. They also visited the Shakespeare Theatre and the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk. In addition, they laid wreaths at the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers of 1970 to commemorate the heroism of Poland's Solidarity movement.

Prime Minister

MEETING WITH THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CHINESE PARLIAMENT Prime Minister Beata Szydło met in Warsaw on July 13 with Zhang Dejiang, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. They talked about tightening economic cooperation between the two countries and

their strategic partnership.

The main topic of the talks was looking for practical mechanisms of Polish-Chinese strategic partnership. Apart from bilateral relations, the meeting was also an opportunity for discussing multilateral cooperation, including cooperation in the 16 plus 1 format, and encouraging Chinese investors to take more interest in the Polish market.

The visit of the Chinese politician to Poland was combined with the Polish-Chinese Investment and Logistic Infrastructure Forum. It was attended by Chinese business people and people representing the Polish construction, logistics, aviation and railway sectors. Present at the Forum was the government commissioner for the construction of the Central Transport Hub, and representatives of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Polish Investment and Trade Agency and Polish Development Fund.

CELEBRATIONS OF THE POLISH ARMED FORCES DAY State ceremonies marking the Polish Armed Forces Day were held at the monument to Marshal Józef Piłsudski at the Belweder Palace on August 15. Prime Minister Beata Szydło saluted the flag of the ceremonial guard of the Polish Armed Forces. Then, she approached Józef Piłsudski monument to take part in the official military parade.

The parade began with the presentation of planes and helicopters, including the Hercules and F-16 fighter aircraft. It was followed by the presentation of light vehicles: motorcycles, military police vehicles, special forces vehicles, off-road vehicles and armoured vehicles. Then, there were minelaying vehicles and Twardy and Leopard tanks. Self-propelled RAK mortars were shown for the first time at this year’s parade. Around 200 vehicles, and 60 aircraft and helicopters took part in the parade.

More than 1,500 troops marched in the parade, including US and Britain military men of the battalion supporting the eastern flank of NATO, as well standard bearers representing more than 10 allied and partnered states, including Germany and Ukraine.

PRIME MINISTER HONOURS THE MEMORY OF HEROES OF THE WARSAW RISING

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Photos: premier.gov.pl

Prime Minister Beata Szydło began commemorations of the 73rd anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Rising on August 1 by laying a wreath and lighting a candle at the Monter Bell commemorating Gen. Antoni Chruściel. The prime minister also laid flowers at a plaque in honour of Poland’s President Lech Kaczyński,

the initiator of the Warsaw Rising Museum. Thanks to building the Museum commemorating the heroes of the Warsaw Rising, the August 1944 insurgence against the Nazi occupiers became better known in Poland and abroad.

During her visit to the Museum the prime minister had an opportunity to talk to scouts and volunteers who help the institution on a daily basis. At 5 p.m., the hour when the rising broke out, the prime minister paid tribute to the insurgents at the Gloria Victis monument at Powązki Cemetery. The commemorations attended by Beata Szydło ended with a wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb of Gen. Antoni Chruściel, the military commander of the Warsaw Rising.

The 1944 Warsaw Rising lasted for 63 days. Initially, it had been expected to last just several days. The rising broke out in Warsaw on August 1 at 5 p.m., with around 40,000 to 50,000 Home Army soldiers, scouts and civilians joining the fight on that day. They waged a heroic battle with German forces. The biggest lone armed rising in the German-occupied Europe, it ended on October 2, 1944 with an agreement ending military activity in Warsaw.

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KAZAKHSTAN cooperation POLAND

EXPO Astana 2017

FUTURE ENERGY EXPO 2017–ASTANA "Future Energy" – this is the theme of the global EXPO 2017, which started in early June in the capital city of Kazakhstan, Astana.

Andrzej Kazimierski

The Polish pavilion was opened by Andrzej Stefański, Commissioner at Polish Section at Astana EXPO 2017, Hanna Zdanowska, Mayor of Łódź and Paweł Lewandowski, Under-secretary of State of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage

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t offers a glimpse into the future of energy – a world in which we will be able to make much more efficient, safer and cleaner use of energy than today. On the other hand, EXPO also takes us into the most distant past, a time when the Universe was pure energy, which gradually took on the shape of the stars and the planets. We can travel billions of years back in time, thanks to state-of-the-art light and sound technologies. Today, we can enjoy stunning visuals which were hard to imagine twenty years ago. Visiting the exhibition

allows us to take part in spectacular multimedia shows focused on the theme of energy and its impacts.

The Polish pavilion, which is located in one of the most attractive locations, right next to the USA’s and the Vatican’s, provides similar attractions. Our country has one thousand square metres and two levels at its disposal to present itself in the Kazakh capital city. The Polish exhibition has a distinct quality, as in addition to the virtual presentations which are used by other exhibitors, it also presents its modern achievements through nature.

The pavilion consists of five parts: Entrance, Technologies, Forest, Rest Area and Regions.

The Entrance and Technologies area presents clean coal energies, such as coal gasification, blue coal and biomass combustion.

The multimedia show presented here centres on coal as a component of energy flow in nature. Examples of the conversion of post-industrial areas which have now become excellent cultural, tourist and leisure locations are also demonstrated.

The Forest area showcases the beauty and natural diversity of the Polish woodlands and their role in absorbing carbon dioxide. This part of the exhibition features touchscreens with interactive elements for the youngest visitors. By tapping the buttons you can listen to forest animals and literally smell the forest.

The Rest Area has seats and interactive compositions for children. Touching the highlighted exhibition elements triggers light, sound and visual events. This part also features a stage which is used for shows and artistic performances.

Poland’s presence at EXPO in Astana is not limited to its pavilion. An innovative Polish project is one of the 24 exhibited enterprises at the general pavilion of best energy practices. It is the SILO system designed by scientists from the Warsaw University of Technology, which uses artificial intelligence concepts to optimise combustion processes, bringing measurable benefits for power plants.

One of the main goals of the Polish presentation in Astana is to promote Łódź as a can• didate to host EXPO 2022.

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EXPO Astana 2017

POLAND AS A REGIONAL TRANSPORT HUB ANDRZEJ ADAMCZYK, Minister of Infrastructure and Construction

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ransport, logistics and construction are the major components of PolishKazakh economic cooperation. We view Kazakhstan as an important partner in our efforts to develop Eurasian transport routes. Given Poland’s favourable geographical location and the modern road and railway infrastructure improved through EUR 46 billion Government programmes, we are convinced that Poland can, and should, become a regional transport hub. Hence our special focus on the Far-Eastern dimension of Poland’s transport policy.

The Eurasian direction is associated primarily with the “Belt and Road” initiative undertaken by the People’s Republic of China. Many countries are hoping that the project will, above all, enable them to secure economic support. In my view, one of the key drivers of this initiative will be the effective Eurasian railroad transport system, serving as the backbone for the development of intermodal connections to make the transport of commodities between Europe and China much more efficient. Consequently, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction has supported railway companies’ efforts to launch new regular cargo routes between Europe and Asia. In October 2016 PKP LHS joined the Trans-Caspian Railway, which brings together railway companies from Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Turkey and China. Later, in June 2017, the company joined the Trans-Caspian Railway Association. I hope that the determination of the

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Association's members will lead to competitive transport tariffs and new regular connections. Under an agreement with the Kazakh Railways, PKP SA acts as an intermediary in the settlements between operators. PKP Cargo, in turn, could play a major role in facilitating Polish-Kazakh goods trade, since it has the licenses and certificates required to operate rail transport services not only in Poland, but also within railway networks elsewhere in Europe. In addition, the company offers multi-functional border services provided by terminals and logistics to facilitate switching between the Russian (1520 mm) and standard (1435 mm) gauges. It is also important to mention President Andrzej Duda's effective crossministerial cooperation and commitment.

Poland and Kazakhstan have developed their institutional railway cooperation at the Organization for Cooperation of Railways forum. Member States of this Organisation are working on a Convention on direct international rail transport, which will govern and optimise the flow of commodities from Europe to Asia. The first provisions in this Convention have been worked out during the two sessions of the International Diplomatic Conference held so far, presided by Poland along with Russia and China. An editorial group led by Poland is working out the final details of the Convention. The results will be presented during the November session of the Organization.

Road transport also has a significant potential to encourage cooperation between

Poland and Kazakhstan. The unwavering interest in sharing transport licenses means that our operators enjoy good relations with each other and that the Kazakh market is increasingly receptive to Polish products. In addition, Polish Post is strengthening its ties with Kazakh Post and logistics companies.

Another sector where we can develop our cooperation is the construction industry. Note that the modern part of Astana was built using formworks made by the Polish company Ulma. Another company that has a strong position on the Kazakh market is Selena. These are only some examples of Polish construction companies which are recognised across Kazakhstan – but many more Polish businesses have ventured into this country, building on this reputation. Opportunities for an increased presence on the Kazakh market could be provided by projects involving the modernisation and extension of the Aktau sea port, the construction of the advanced Kuryk port (both situated along the New Silk Road), the extension of the Tengiz oil field, and the modernisation of CHP stations in many locations across the country.

I am convinced that Poland’s involvement in the implementation of numerous infrastructure projects of pivotal importance for Kazakhstan might help Central Asia achieve stabilisation and prosperity. So, I believe that the presence of Polish businesses at EXPO Astana 2017 and associated events will be an excellent opportunity to step up our cooperation.

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EXPO Astana 2017

ПОЛЬША КАК РЕГИОНАЛЬНЫЙ ТРАНСПОРТНЫЙ ХAБ АНДЖЕЙ АДАМЧИК, Министр инфраструктуры и строительства

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ранспорт и логистика, a тaкжe строительство имеют значительную долю в польско-казахстанском экономическом сотрудничестве. Мы видим Казахстан как важнoго партнерa нашей деятельности, направленной на развитие евроазиатских транспортных маршрутов. Учитывая выгодное географическое расположение Польши, ул у чшение состояния дорожной и железнодорожной инфраст ру кт у ры, ос у ществл яемого правительственными программaми нa сумму около 46 млр еврo, мы убеждены в том, что Польша может и должна стать региональным транспортным хaбoм. Поэтому мы придаем особое внимaние дальневосточному измерению польской транспортной политики. Евразийское направление ассоциируeтся глaвным образом c начaтой китайским правительствoм инициативoй Пояca и Пути. Многие страны надежды, кacaющиecя этого проектa, связывaют в основном c возможностью получения экономической поддержки. На мой взгляд, одним из ключевых факторов, определяющих успех этой инициативы, будет эффективнaя евразийскaя транспортнaя железнодорожнaя системa, функционирующaя как сеткa для развития интермодальных соединений, что позволит существенно улучшить перевозку грузов между Европой и Китаем. Поэтoму Министерство инфраструктуры и строительствa поддерживаeт деятельность железнодорожных компаний, которые стремятся запускaть следующие рeгулярныe грузoвыe соединия между Европой и Азией. В октябре 2016 года PKP LHS присоединились к Международному Транскаспийскому Транспортнoму Маршруту, объединяющeму железные дороги Украины, Азербайджана, Грузии, Казахстана, Кыргызстана, Туркменистана,

Турции и Китая. Затем, в июне 2017 года, компания вступила в Международную Aссоциацию Транскаспийского Транспортнoго Маршрутa. Я надеюсь, что упрямство членoв Ассоциации приведeт к разработке конкурентоспособных фрахтовых ставок и запуску регулярных соединий. На основании договора c Kазахстанскими железными дорогaми PKP SA опосредует расчеты между перевозчиками. Существенную роль в интенсификации обcлуживания польско-казахстанского товарного обмeна мoжeт играть PKP Cargo, которая на основе своих лицензий и сертификатов готовa к самостoятeльнoй транспортировкe не только в Польше, но и на сети железных дорог других европейских стран. Компания предлагает также многофункциональный пограничный ceрвиc, представляeмый на cтыкoвкe тнз. российcкой (1520 мм) и нормальнoй (1435 мм) ширины рельсов, блaгодaря терминалaм и логистическим центрaм. Подчеркну также эффективное межведомственное сотрудничество и приверженность президента Aнжeя Дуды. Польша и Казахстан развивают институциональнoe железнодорожноe сотрудничествo в Организации сотрудничества железных дорог - ОСЖД. Государства-члены работают над содержанием Конвенции о прямом международном железнодорожном сообщении, которaя будет регулировать и оптимизировать поток товаров из Европы в Азию. Вo время предыдущих двух заседаний Международной дипломатической конференции ОСЖД, под председательством Польши наряду с Россией и Китаем, была достигнута договоренность пo первым записям документа. Над окончательной формой Конвенции работaeт редакционнaя группa под председательством Польши. Результаты ее

работы будут представлены на ноябрьской сессии ОСЖД. Большой потенциал для ускорения сотрудничества Польши и Казахстанa имеет также дoрoжный транспорт. Неослабевающий интерес к обмену транспортными разрешениями укaзываeт на хорошие отношения между нашими перевозчиками и рacтущую открытость казахстанского рынка нa польскиe продукты. Польскaя Почтa также улучшила свои связи с Казахстанскoй Почтoй и кoмпaниями в отрасли логистики. Пространством для развития нашего сотрудничества является также строительство. Современная часть Астаны построена с использованием строительной опалубки польской кoмпaнии ULMA. Сильнaя позиция на казахстанском рынке также у кoмпaнии SELENA. Они являются лишь примерами отечественных строительных компаний, признанных по всему Казахстану, которые являются своего рода мостом для других польских компаний. Возможностью усилить свое присутствие на местном рынке может быть модернизация и расширение морского порта Актау, строительство современного порта Курык (oбa находятся на пути нового Шелкового пути), расширение месторождения нефти Тенгиз и модернизация электростанций во многих местах по всей стране. Я убежден, что польское участие в реализации приоритетных для Казахстана инфраструктурных инвестицияx может положительно повлиять на стабильность и процветание региона Центральной Азии. Я думаю, что участие польских предприятий в международной выставке EXPO 2017 в Астане и сопутствующих мероприятияx будет прекраснoй возможностью активизировать наши отношения.

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EXPO Astana 2017

FOR KAZAKHSTAN POLAND IS ONE OF THE MAIN ECONOMIC PARTNERS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE ПОЛЬША ЯВЛЯЕТСЯ ДЛЯ КАЗАХСТАНА ОДНИМ ИЗ ГЛАВНЫХ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ ПАРТНЕРОВ В ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЙ И ВОСТОЧНОЙ ЕВРОПЕ

Welcome address by ZHANIS KASYMBEK, Minister for Investment and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. / Приветственное слово Министра по инвестициям и развитию РК Ж. КАСЫМБЕКА для журнала «Polish Market»

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017 marks the 25th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Poland. Over the years of their independence, our two countries have gained plenty of experience in pursuing development, which lies at the foundation of economic successes and which has allowed our two nations to prosper.

We are now observing a marked improvement in the quality of our two-way co-operation. The boosting of political dialogue, coupled with successful reforms of our economies, have allowed us to broaden and strengthen our partnership in many directions.

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Thanks to top-level agreements reached during a state visit to Poland by Kazakhstan President N. Nazarbayev on August 22-23 2016, business, trade and investment relations have picked up significantly. This prompted Kazakhstan to lift the visa requirement for Polish citizens as of January 1 2017. The international EKSPO-2017 exhibition, which attracted the attention of the world community, and the launching of direct flights between our two capitals, have made Kazakhstan an attractive destination for Polish businessmen and tourists.

For Kazakhstan Poland is one of the main economic partners in Central and Eastern Europe. Of key importance is the

EXPO Astana 2017

development of the transit and logistical potential of our two countries, which is in the interest of the biggest regional markets. One of the directions which is given priority is the ‘One belt – one route’ economic programme, where Kazakhstan and Poland’s membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank can be put to a mutually beneficial use.

Let me stress that the new economic strategy of Kazakhstan, which provides for the implementation of the ‘National Plan: 100 concrete steps toward the introduction of 5 institutional reforms’, the President’s proclamation ‘Third modernisation of Kazakhstan: global competitive edge’, the ‘Nurly Zhol’ infrastructure development programme, the second stage of development in infrastructure and innovation, as well as the large format privatisation, opens up qualitatively fresh opportunities and enticing prospects both for large Polish investors and owners of small and medium-sized companies. New institutional organisations: Kazakh Invest and Kazakh Export have been established. Their activities will facilitate effective trade and investment co-operation between our two states.

Kazakhstan is also inviting Polish partners to actively participate in the development of an ambitious national project of creating a financial hub in Astana – the Astana International Financial Centre. The centre is to play a fundamental role in the integration and development of an innovative financial market in the region.

We are open to bilateral co-operation in winning access to third markets. The opportunity to benefit from Kazakhstan’s membership of the Eurasian Economic Union, with a common market of over 170 million people, and from its role within the Central Asian region, holds a lot of promise.

A large Polish diaspora living in Kazakhstan forms a link between this country and Poland. Poles resident in Kazakhstan play a crucial role as a ‘live bridge’ allowing our two nations to deepen their partnership. The history of Polish-Kazakh relations forms the basis upon which friendship and mutual respect between the two nations can be strengthened.

Dear Reader, may I wish you every success and fresh achievements in furthering the development of Kazakh-Polish relatio ns.

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2017 году исполнилось 25 лет со дня установления дипломатических отношений между Республикой Казахстан и Республикой Польша.

За годы своей независимости нашими странами накоплен огромный опыт государственного развития, ставший основой для экономических успехов и процветания наших народов. Сегодня наблюдается заметное повышение качественного уровня двустороннего сотрудничества. Активизация политического диалога, эффективные экономические реформы внутри наших стран позволили расширить и укрепить партнерство по многим направлениям. Благодаря договоренностям на высшем уровне в рамках государственного визита Президента Казахстана Н. Назарбаева в Польшу 22-23 августа 2016 года, значительно активизировались торгово-экономические и инвестиционные отношения. Этому способствовало освобождение с 1 января 2017 года Казахстаном польских граждан от визовых требований. Международная выставка ЭКСПО-2017, привлекшая внимание всего мирового сообщества, и открытие прямого авиасообщения между двумя столицами стали главными драйверами популяризации Казахстана для польского бизнеса и туристов. Польша является для Казахстана одним из главных экономических партнеров в Центральной и Восточной Европе. Ключевая роль отводится развитию транзитно-логистического потенциала наших государств, объединяющего интересы крупнейших региональных рынков. При этом одним из приоритетных направлений двустороннего сотрудничества становится экономическая программа Шелкового пути «Один пояс – один путь», где может быть качественно и взаимовыгодно использовано членство Казахстана и Польши в Азиатском банке инфраструктурных инвестиций. Отмечаю, что новая экономическая стратегия Казахстана, предусматривающая реализацию «Плана нации: 100 конкретных шагов по реализации 5 институциональных реформ», послания Президента «Третья модернизация Казахстана: глобальная конкурентоспособность», программы инфраструктурного развития «Нурлы Жол», второго этапа инновационно-инфраструктурного развития, масштабной приватизации открывает качественно-новые возможности и привлекательные перспективы, как для крупных польских инвесторов, так и малых и средних представителей предпринимательства. В Казахстане созданы новые институциональные организации в лице KAZAKH INVEST и KAZAKH EXPORT, деятельность которых будет способствовать организации эффективного торгового и инвестиционного взаимодействия между нашими странами.

КЛЮЧЕВАЯ РОЛЬ ОТВОДИТСЯ РАЗВИТИЮ ТРАНЗИТНОЛОГИСТИЧЕСКОГО ПОТЕНЦИАЛА НАШИХ ГОСУДАРСТВ, ОБЪЕДИНЯЮЩЕГО ИНТЕРЕСЫ КРУПНЕЙШИХ РЕГИОНАЛЬНЫХ РЫНКОВ.

Казахстан также приглашает польских партнеров к активному участию в развитии амбициозного национального проекта по созданию финансового хаба в Астане – Международного финансового центра «Астана». Центру отводится фундаментальная роль в интеграции и развитии инновационного финансового рынка в регионе. Мы открыты для совместного сотрудничества по развитию доступа к рынкам третьих стран. Перспективным видится использование возможностей Казахстана в Евразийском экономическом союзе, общий рынок которого составляет свыше 170 млн. человек, и центрально-азиатском регионе. Казахстан и Польшу объединяет многочисленная польская диаспора, проживающая в Казахстане. Поляки в Казахстане играют неоспоримую роль «живого моста» в деле углубления двустороннего партнерства, а история казахстанско-польских отношений является залогом укрепления дружбы и взаимоуважения между нашими странами. Уважаемый читатель, желаю Вам успехов и новых достижений в деле успешного развития казахстанско-польских отношений. • 9/2017 polish market

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EXPO Astana 2017

GOOD PROSPECTS

TADEUSZ KOŚCIŃSKI, Deputy Minister of Economic Development

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azakhstan is an important economic partner for Poland in Central Asia. The first quarter of 2017 saw an increase in trade between the two countries. Its value in the first five months of the year was USD487.6 million against USD245 million a year earlier. Polish exports to Kazakhstan were worth USD162.2 million. The balance of trade is negative, because of the high value of the mineral raw materials Poland imports from Kazakhstan. However, the stabilization of oil prices allows us to predict that the pace of Kazakhstan’s economic growth will accelerate in coming years, which creates conditions for a gradual restoration of Polish exports to their former level within two or three years.

Agriculture and agri-food processing, the production of construction materials and machines, the mining and power sector, financial services, the pharmaceutical industry, the production of rail vehicles, the chemical industry and the automotive sector are considered to be promising areas of cooperation between Poland and Kazakhstan.

Around 190 Polish-owned businesses are registered in Kazakhstan. The most important area of their operation is the oil and gas sector, including prospecting for and developing oil and gas deposits, and the pharmaceutical industry. The Polish companies are also present in the power, rail infrastructure, construction materials and medical equipment sectors.

One of the ways to stimulate economic relations is to develop investment cooperation. At present, Kazakhstan is introducing solutions designed to encourage foreign companies to invest in the country. Among these solutions are special financial and economic zones, like for example the Astana International Financial Centre, where economic activity can be conducted on preferential customs and taxation terms. From the perspective of investors, there are favourable changes to

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regulations on the employment of foreigners. Foreign firms have also gained equal access to public tenders. Additionally, a programme for privatizing the largest state-run enterprises was launched in 2016.

The Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and Kazakhstan offers a chance for the development of economic relations between the EU, including Poland, and Kazakhstan. The objective of the agreement is to strengthen trade and political ties between the two sides.

The concept of the New Silk Road may also contribute to boosting economic relations. This huge project involves more than 60 countries inhabited by over 4.5 billion people. Kazakhstan plays an important role in the Belt and Road initiative because the country is crossed by the shortest rail connection from China to Poland and further to Western Europe.

We would like to benefit from our strategic location on the New Silk Road in two ways-by giving our businesses an opportunity to carry out infrastructure projects along the Belt and Road route, using actively our membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and by attracting Chinese investment to Poland. We are now considering the participation of Chinese corporations in some large infrastructure projects on condition of equal benefits and full control on our side.

An excellent opportunity for establishing new economic relations is the Polish-Kazakh Economic Forum, which will be held again in Astana on September 6 and will be an important part of Poland’s presence at Astana Expo 2017. Representatives of business environment institutions, institutions interested in the development of cooperation with Kazakh partners, and business people have been invited to take part • in the Forum.

EXPO Astana 2017

XОРОШИЕ ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ ТАДЕУШ КОСЦИНСКИ, заместитель государственного секретаря, Министерство развития

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азахстан является важным экономическим партнером Польши в Центральной Азии. В первом квартале 2017 года мы зафиксировали темпы роста торгового обмена нашей страны с Казахстаном. Стоимость этого обмена за первые 5 месяцев текущего года составила 487,6 млн USD против 245 миллионов в 2016 году, тогда кaк стоимость польского экспорта в Казахстан составила 162,2 млн USD. Хотя торговый баланс отрицателен из-за высокой стоимости импорта минеральных ресурсов, тo стабилизация цен на нефть позвoляет ожидать увеличения темпов экономического развития Казахстана в ближайшие годы. Это создает прeдпосылки для постепенного восстановления уровня польского экспорта в перспективе 2-3 лет. К перспективным направлениям сотрудничества Польши с Казахстаном относятся, м.п. сельское хозяйство и пищевая промышленность, производство строительных материалов и машин, горнодобывающая промышленность, энергетика, сeктoр финансовых услуг, фармацевтическая промышленность, строительство рeльcoвых транспортных средств, а также химическaя и автомобильная промышленность. В Казахстане зарегистрировано ок. 190 субъектов с польским капиталом. Наиболее значимым направлением деятельности нашиx компаний является нефтяная и газовая промышленность, включая разведку и разработку нефти и природного газа, а также фармацевтический сектор. Польские компании присутствуют также в секторе электроэнергетики, рeльcoвой инфраструктуры, строительных материалов, секторe медицинского оборудования. Одним из способов oживлeния экономического сотрудничествa является развитие инвестиционного сотрудничества. Казахстан в настоящее время запускаeт решения для стимулирования иностранных компаний к инвестированию. Это кacaeтся м.п. специальныx экономическиx и финансовых зон, на территории которых хозяйственная деятельность осуществляется на льготных таможенных и налоговых уcлoвияx, кaк, на примeр, Международный финансовый

центр «Astana». С точки зрения инвесторов, благоприятныe изменения идут в правилах, регулирующих трудоуcтрoйcтвo иностранцев, a иностранныe компании получили равный доступ к участию в государственных тендерах. С 2016 года запущено также программу приватизации крупнейшиx государственных компаний. Шaнc развивать экономические отношения Европейского Cоюза, в том числе Польши, с Казахстаном создает cоглашение o раcширeнии Соглашения о партнерстве и сотрудничестве (PCA) ЕС - Казахстан. Его целью являeтcя укреплeниe торговыx связей и политическиx отношений между сторонами.

Oживлeнию экономическиx отношений можeт служить также концепция Hового Шелкового пути. Этот гигантский проект включает более чем 60 стран мира, где проживаeт более 4,5 миллиарда человек. Казахстан играет важную роль в проекте Пояcа и Пути как страна, кoтoрую пересекает кратчайшее железнодорожноe сообщениe из Китая в Польшу и далее в Западную Европу. Мы хотели бы вдвoйнe вocпoльзoвaтьcя нашей стратегической позициeй на Новом Шелковом пути, давая нашим предпринимателям возможность рeaлизaции инфраструктурных проектов на дороге Пояcа и Пути, активно используя свое членство в Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, а также в привлечении китайских инвестиций в Польшу. В настоящее время рассматривается участие китайских корпораций в некоторых крупных инфраструктурных проектах, при условии предоставления равнoй прибыли и полнoгo контроля по нашей стороне. Отличнoй возможностью для установления новых экономических отношений является еще один Польско-Казахстанcкий Экономический Форум, который пройдет 6 сентября c.г. в Астане и станет важным элементом присутствия Польши на международной выставке Astana EXPO 2017. К участию в Форуме приглашены представители бизнеснoй среды и учреждений, заинтересованных в развитии сотрудничества с • казахстанcкими партнерами, и предприниматели.

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EXPO Astana 2017

НАША СТРАНА ЗАИНТЕРЕСОВАНА В РАЗВИТИИ ДОЛГОВРЕМЕННОГО И ВЗАИМОВЫГОДНОГО СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВА С ПОЛЬШЕЙ, КОТОРАЯ ЯВЛЯЕТСЯ НАШИМ ВАЖНЫМ ПАРТНЁРОМ В ЕВРОСОЮЗЕ Ответы Заместителя Министра иностранных дел Республики Казахстан РОМАНА ВАСИЛЕНКО на вопросы журнала POLISH MARKET Замминистра иностранных дел Казахстана Роман Василенко: «Мы всегда рады видеть польских друзей в нашей стране» У Казахстана есть амбиции стать транспортно-логистическим центром для стран Евросоюза в целях развития торговли с Азией. Какова в этом роль казахстанско-польского сотрудничества? В чем преимущества Казахстана для реализации экономической политики Польши? Европейский союз является крупнейшим экономическим партнером нашей страны. На ЕС приходится 50% казахстанского внешнеторгового оборота и почти половина иностранных инвестиций в экономику Казахстана. Наша страна заинтересована в развитии долговременного и взаимовыгодного сотрудничества с Польшей, которая является нашим важным партнёром в Евросоюзе. Укреплению этих связей, в числе прочих, призвано способствовать новое Соглашение о расширенном партнерстве и сотрудничестве между Казахстаном с одной стороны и Европейским союзом и его государствами-членами с другой. На данном этапе идет завершение процесса ратификации Соглашения, временно и частично применяемого с мая 2016 года, парламентами всех государств-членов ЕС и Европейским парламентом. Мы благодарны Варшаве за то, что Польша уже ратифицировала данный документ. Относительно преимуществ Казахстана среди международных партнёров Польши могу сказать, что, наряду с достаточно ёмким внутренним рынком с 18 миллионами потребителей, немаловажны также наше участие в общем рынке Евразийского Экономического Союза с его 182 миллионным рынком и близость Казахстана к Китаю как крупнейшему мировому потребителю.

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Совместными усилиями мы могли бы принять активное участие в реализации инициативы «Пояса и пути», учитывая, что Казахстан, Польша и Китай являются крупными звеньями одной транзитной цепи между Азией и Европой. Также для совместной реализации инфраструктурных проектов в рамках данной инициативы целесообразно было бы создать совместную рабочую группу по изучению возможностей использования участия обеих стран в Азиатском банке инфраструктурных инвестиций со штаб-квартирой в Пекине. Ответный визит Президента А.Дуды в Астану в рамках ЭКСПО является безусловным свидетельством высокой стратегической значимости Казахстана для Польши. Каковы планы и приоритеты работы совместной межправительственной комиссии, которую Вы возглавляете? В рамках Межправительственной комиссии по экономическому сотрудничеству обсуждаются наиболее актуальные вопросы сотрудничества в различных секторах экономики, в частности топливно-энергетическом, транспортном, строительном, сельскохозяйственном, туристическом, военно-промышленном, финансово-банковском, в области торговли и инвестиций и др. Комиссия служит действенным инструментом по развитию двусторонней договорно-правовой базы экономического сотрудничества. В прошлом году работа Комиссии способствовала проведению бизнес-форума в рамках государственного визита Президента Казахстана Нурсултана Назарбаева в Варшаву в PM

августе 2016 г., по итогам которого были подписаны инвестиционные проекты на общую сумму 845 млн. долл. США. Мы планируем провести следующее 8-е заседание в 2018 году в Астане, где мы можем обсудить ход реализаций достигнутых договоренностей по итогам предстоящего ответного государственного визита Президента Польши Анджея Дуды в Казахстан. В целом, для нас перспективными темами для обсуждения в рамках Комиссии видятся вопросы по снятию барьеров в рамках сотрудничества между Польшей и ЕАЭС, упрощению процедур выдачи виз, фармацевтики и медицины, переработки сельскохозяйственной продукции, создании производств горнодобывающих машин и оборудования, а также в области развития экологических технологий. Не скрою, уровень организации выставки ЭКСПО в Казахстане сегодня привлекает внимание всей мировой общественности. Но крайне интересной инициативой является идея дальнейшего использования объектов ЭКСПО, в том числе Международным финансовым центром Астана. Не могли бы Вы поделиться планами Казахстана на этот счет? Действительно, выставка «Астана ЭКСПО-2017» – это самый масштабный проект в истории нашей страны. Выставки «ЭКСПО» до этого никогда не проводились в странах постсоветского пространства. Многое зависит от того, насколько успешной будет выставкa, а этот параметр традиционно измеряется количеством участников, посетителей и эффективностью PM

EXPO Astana 2017 постлевыставочного использования инфраструктуры. В истории проведения ЭКСПО, к сожалению, немало примеров, когда объекты пустовали после проведения выставки. Здесь хотел бы отметить, что Президент Казахстана с самого начала придавал особое значение этому вопросу. Как вы отметили, по его инициативе, на базе инфраструктуры «ЭКСПО-2017» создаётся Международный финансовый центр «Астана» (МФЦА), а также Международный центр по развитию «зеленых» технологий и инвестиционных проектов под эгидой ООН и Международный технопарк IT-стартапов. Официально МФЦА начнёт свою деятельность 1 января 2018 года. В качестве ключевых направлений развития МФЦА определены рынок капитала, рынок по управлению активами и его экспертиза, управление благосостоянием частных лиц, исламское финансирование и альтернативное финансирование (фонды прямых инвестиций, хедж фонды и венчурный капитал). МФЦА будет функционировать с опорой на перенимаемый сегодня успешный опыт таких передовых финансовых центров мира, как Лондон, Гонконг, Дубаи, Сингапур. Для активного привлечения иностранных инвесторов создаваемый центр обеспечит беспрецедентные условия, не имеющие аналогов на постсоветском пространстве. Функционирование Центра будет основываться на принципах английского права, что позволит обеспечить справедливость правосудия и позволит значительно повысить доверие к Казахстану со стороны иностранных инвесторов. Помимо этого, рассматривается вопрос развития таких широко используемых на западных площадках финансовых инструментов, как «биржевые инвестиционные фонды» и «биржевые инвестиционные ноты». В настоящее время МФЦА уже успешно сотрудничает со многими базирующимися в Великобритании международными юридическими компаниями, такими как Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Norton Rose Fulbright, Baker McKenzie, White & Case, а также с палатами барристеров Outer Temple Chambers, 4 Stone Buildings и 3 Verulam Buildings. Все эти инициативы должны стать платформой для привлечения предпринимателей, инвесторов и новых технологий со всего мира. В Польше постепенно меняется восприятие Казахстана как места, куда в прошлом столетии были сосланы тысячи поляков. Сегодня многие отмечают, что Казахстан – это региональный анклав инвестиционной и туристической привлекательности. Какими Вы видите главные стимулы для присутствия польского бизнеса на казахстанском рынке? Залогом успешного торгово-экономического сотрудничества между нашими странами является конструктивный политический диалог PM

на высоком уровне. Положительный импульс развитию двусторонних отношений придал вышеупомянутый государственный визит Президента Казахстана Нурсултана Назарбаева в Варшаву в августе 2016 года. Мне приятно отметить, что сегодня в Казахстане представлено около 200 предприятий с участием польского капитала. Мы также рассчитываем, что Президент Польши Анджей Дуда в рамках своего ответного визита в Астану прибудет в сопровождении многочисленной бизнес-делегации. В этом видим подтверждение большого интереса польского бизнеса к налаживанию и расширению деловых связей с казахстанскими партнерами. Что касается системы работы нашего правительства по привлечению в страну иностранного капитала и технологий, то в текущем году начата работа по её дальнейшему совершенствованию с тем, чтобы создать максимально благоприятные условий для прихода иностранных инвесторов на казахстанский рынок. В этой связи, совместно с Всемирным Банком разработана и принята Национальная стратегия по привлечению инвестиций. Она призвана определить четкие механизмы координации всех государственных органов и национальных компаний, порядок и алгоритм их взаимодействия, целевые источники инвестиций, а также меры по дальнейшему совершенствованию инвестиционного климата в соответствии с рекомендациями Организации экономического сотрудничества и развития (ОЭСР). Казахстан является членом Комитета по инвестициям ОЭСР в качестве «ассоциированного участника» и присоединился к Декларации ОЭСР по международным инвестициям и многонациональным предприятиям. Сегодня в Казахстане реализуются две государственные программы, участие в которых может вызвать особый интерес у польских инвесторов. Это программа «Нoрлы жол» («Светлый путь»), направленная на развитие транспортно-логистической, индустриальной, энергетической инфраструктуры, и Программа индустриально-инновационного развития до 2020 года, направленная на производство экспорто-ориентированной высокотехнологичной продукции обрабатывающей промышленности. Внутри страны созданы эффективные институты по взаимодействию с инвесторами на всех уровнях. Действует упрощенный налоговый режим, постоянно совершенствуется национальное законодательство и расширяется пакет инвестиционных преференций. Инвесторам, реализующим проекты в приоритетных отраслях экономики, гарантирована стабильность налогового законодательства. Кроме того, создана специализированная национальная компания по инвестициям «Kazakh Invest» с сетью зарубежных представителей и региональных филиалов. Совет

директоров национальной компании возглавляет Премьер-министр. Она определена в качестве «единого переговорщика» от имени Правительства с целевыми ТНК и крупными инвесторами и будет работать с инвесторами по принципу «одного окна», включая сопровождение при взаимодействии с государственными органами и решение возникающих вопросов на местах. Аналогичная работа проводится Правительством на экспортном направлении. Создана национальная компания «Kazakh Export» для поддержки национального экспорта. Сегодня Казахстан экспортирует в Польшу в основном нефть и другие сырьевые ресурсы. Мы хотим, чтобы польские партнёры получили больше качественной информации о продукции и иных отраслей нашей экономики, в том числе обрабатывающей промышленности и сельского хозяйства. Что касается развития в нашей стране индустрии туризма, то в настоящее время принята Концепция развития туристской отрасли Республики Казахстан до 2023 года. Документ разработан с целью формирования единой институциональной, методологической, организационной основы для формирования современной, высокоэффективной и конкурентоспособной туристской отрасли Казахстана. В этой связи, планируется создание шести региональных культурно-туристских кластеров: «Астана – сердце Евразии», «Алматы – свободная культурная зона Казахстана», «Жемчужина Алтая», «Возрождение Великого Шелкового пути», «Каспийские ворота», «Единство природы и кочевой культуры». С учетом специфики регионов, будут развиваться новые направления туризма - сакральный, кемпинговый, гастрономический, охотничий, этнографический, социальный и другие. Для продвижения привлекательного имиджа Казахстана и ведения маркетинга создано акционерное общество «Национальная компания «Kazakh Tourism». Пользуясь возможностью, хотел бы напомнить, что начиная с 1 января 2017 года граждане Польши, а также всех государств-членов ЕС и ОЭСР, имеют право безвизового посещения Казахстана на срок до 30 дней. Кроме того, отрадно, что в мае этого года в преддверии ЭКСПО-2017 польский национальный авиаперевозчик «LOT» начал выполнять прямые рейсы по маршруту «Варшава-Астана» с частотой 4 раза в неделю. Открытие прямого рейса является хорошим подспорьем для развития туризма и увеличения пассажиропотока между нашими странами. Мы всегда рады видеть наших польских друзей в Казахстане, и приглашаем посетить нашу гостеприимную землю, а наши граждане с удовольствием приезжают в Польшу, чтобы насладиться красотами ваших городов, лесов и озёр, богатствами польской куль• туры и национальной кухни.

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REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN INFORMATION ABOUT ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN POLAND AND KAZAKHSTAN Source: Ministry of Economic Development, 2016

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT KAZAKHSTAN

AREA: 2,724,900 sq. kilometres; POPULATION: 17.753 million (May 1, 2016); CAPITAL: Astana; CURRENCY: tenge (KZT); official exchange rate of the National Bank of Kazakhstan (July 2016): USD1=KZT343.88, EUR1=KZT377.89 SELECTED ORGANS OF KAZAKHSTAN’S STATE AUTHORITIES: President of the Republic of Kazakhstan: NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan: BAKYTZHAN SAGINTAYEW First Deputy Prime Minister: ASKAR MAMIN Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture: ASKAR MYRZAKHMETOV Minister of the National Economy: TIMUR SULEIMENOV Minister of Investments and Development: ZHENIS KASSYMBEK Minister of Energy: KANAT BOZUMBAYEV Minister of Finance: BAKHYT SULTANOV Selected regional integration and preferential treatment agreements: between Kazakhstan and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), between Kazakhstan and the Eurasian Economic Union, and between Kazakhstan and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

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BASIC INDICATORS OF KAZAKHSTAN’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2013

2014

2015

2016

GDP (KZT billion)

33 521.2

38 033.1

40 761.4

44 3540¹

GDP growth

106.0

104.3

101.2

101¹

GDP (per capita, USD thousand)

13.6

12.3

10.3

-

Budget deficit (% GDP)

2.0

2.8

1.6

-

Public debt (% GDP)

12.9

14.9

na

26.51

Inflation (%)

4.8

7.4

13.6

8.5

Unemployment (%)

5.2

5.0

5.0

5

Exports (USD billion)

84.7

78.2

45.7

36.8

Imports (USD billion)

48.8

41.2

30.2

25.2

FDI in Kazakhstan (USD billion)

24.0

23.7

14.8

14.3¹

Kazakh investment abroad (USD billion)

8.7

3.2

6.9

-

Source: Committee for Statistics at the Kazakh Ministry of the National Economy 1 Preliminary data

In December 2015, Kazakhstan joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).

On December 21, 2015, Kazakhstan became the first country in Central Asia to sign an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation

Agreement (EPCA) with the European Union. The agreement defines 29 areas of cooperation: from political issues to international and regional security to trade and economic matters, including investment and the development of infrastructure.

EXPO Astana 2017 AGREEMENTS REGULATING BILATERAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION The most important agreements regulating Polish-Kazakh economic cooperation: • Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, of the other part, signed in Brussels on January 23, 1995 (Official Journal of the European Union, L. 196 of July 28, 1999); • Agreement on Economic Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, signed in Astana on July 6, 2005 (Official Journal of the Republic of Poland, MP 2006, No. 13, item 171; came into force on January 21, 2006); • Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on supporting and mutually protecting investment, signed in Almaty on September 21, 1994 (Journal of Laws 1995, No. 121, item 584; came into force on May 25, 1995); • Convention between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Avoiding Double Taxation and Preventing Tax Evasion with Respect to Income and Property Taxes, signed in Almaty on September 21, 1994 (Journal of Laws 1995, No. 121, item 586; came into force on May 13, 1995).

TRADE BETWEEN POLAND AND KAZAKHSTAN In the first half of 2017, the value of trade between Poland and Kazakhstan was USD314 million, with Polish exports to Kazakhstan worth USD143 million and Polish imports from Kazakhstan worth USD172 million.

Goods classified as products of the electromechanical industry, chemical industry (including pharmaceutical products) and agricultural and food products traditionally play an important role in Polish exports to Kazakhstan.

Polish imports from Kazakhstan are traditionally dominated by mineral products.

POLISH EXPORTS TO KAZAKHSTAN IN 2015 BY SECTOR

3%

electromechanical products

1%

5%

chemical products

5% 31%

9%

agricultural and food products metallurgical products various products

17%

wood and paper products 29%

light industry products ceramic products

POLISH INVESTMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN According to data from the National Bank of Poland (NBP), the value of Polish direct investment in Kazakhstan at the end of 2015 was USD157.7 million.

An important area of activity for Polish businesses in Kazakhstan is the oil and gas sector, including prospecting and developing oil and natural gas deposits, and the pharmaceutical industry. Polish companies are also present in the Kazakh power sector, rail infrastructure sector, construction and the building materials industry, the machine-building industry, transport equipment sector, the production of plastic pipes and speciality chemicals.

ACCESS TO THE KAZAKH MARKET In 2015, Kazakhstan was ranked 41st among 189 countries in the “Doing Business” report in terms of “ease of doing business.” Compared to the previous report, Kazakhstan moved up 12 places in general terms (in 2015 it ranked 53rd). According to the report, Kazakhstan has carried out the biggest number of reforms – as many as 19 – in seven of the 10 sectors of the economy. Kazakhstan scored particularly high for improving its business climate, simplifying formalities involved in acquiring a building permit and positive changes in foreign trade.

In the annual competitiveness league table published by the World Economic Forum Kazakhstan ranked 42nd, moving eight places up compared to the previous league table. 140 countries were included in the table. Azerbaijan was still the leader among CIS countries (40th place), followed by Kazakhstan (42nd place) and Russia (45th place).

To boost foreign investment Kazakhstan adopted new regulations in June 2014 to encourage foreign companies to invest in the country. The new regulations provide for the following preferential treatment for new investment projects carried out in Kazakhstan (they are defined in detail in an investment contract between the investor and the Committee for Investment at the Ministry of Investments and Development of Kazakhstan): • exemption from corporate income tax for up to 10 years; • exemption from land tax for up to 10 years; • exemption from real property tax for up to eight years since the date when the investment project, for example a manufacturing plant, has been completed (this provision is applicable only to properties put into use for the first time); • refunds of up to 30% of the costs of construction and finishing works and the purchase of equipment after the plant has been fully started up on the basis of documents confirming this; • exemption from the obligation to receive work permits for employees of the organization supervising the implementation of the investment project and employees of its subcontractors in the area of research and design activity, engineering services, construction works (the exemption is granted for up to one year since the investment project has been completed; the list of occupations and the number of foreign employees are specified in detail in the investment contract); • immutability of the above tax exemptions and the right to employ foreign workers without the need to receive work permits; • cooperation with the Committee for Investment in the “one-stopshop” system (the investor submits an application with the required documents and negotiates terms of the investment agreement with the help of the Committee); • simplified formalities for the purchase of land needed for the investment project; • support from the Committee for Investment in securing guarantees for the fulfilment of orders by state-owned companies; • exemptions from customs duties on machines and spare parts brought to Kazakhstan over the time when the investment project is carried out.

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EXPO Astana 2017

The investor has to meet the following conditions to be granted the above preferential treatment: • the investment project has to be carried out by a newly established legal entity this status is awarded to organizations registered not earlier than one year before the date when the application for preferential treatment has been submitted, the scope of their activity corresponds with the list of priority activities specified for the implementation of a given project (the list of such types of activity is defined by the government and can only be changed once a year; the list must not include the gambling sector, mining for mineral raw materials, and the production of excise goods, excluding motor vehicles with an engine capacity of over 3,000 cubic centimetres other than buses, minibuses and trolleybuses), and the project is carried out under a single investment contract; • the investor earmarks for the project no less than around USD20 million; • the newly established legal entity does not carry out operations in special economic zones; is not a joint stock company owned partially by the state; is not an autonomous educational organization; • the direct source of financing or securing the financing for the investment project is not money from the national budget of Kazakhstan; • the investment activity is not carried out under a licence agreement; • the activity is not subsidised by the government of Kazakhstan.

The office of Investment Ombudsman has also been established. The Ombudsman, whose main task is to help investors and protect their rights in Kazakhstan, is appointed by the Kazakh government.

Kazakhstan’s economic policy is now focused on attracting foreign investors to diversify the country’s economy.

IMPORT DUTIES The import duties currently in force in Kazakhstan result from the common customs tariff on imports introduced in 2010 by the Eurasian Economic Union*. After joining the WTO, Kazakhstan unilaterally reduced customs duties on 3,512 tariff items, including motor vehicles, food products, products made of wood, jewellery, cables, wires and beverages, despite being obliged to pursue a common customs policy with the Eurasian Economic Union. The average level of customs

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duties in Kazakhstan is 6.5% against 10.4% in the Eurasian Economic Union under the Single Customs Tariff. For agricultural and food products the average level of customs duties is 10.2% against 17%, and for industrial products it is 5.6% against 8.7%.** EXPORT DUTIES Kazakhstan applies export duties on some metals, steel, scrap metals, petroleum and petroleum derived oils, leather and other products.

The export duty on petroleum is USD60 per tonne, on aluminium 15% (but not less than EUR100 per tonne), on wool 10% (but not less than EUR50 per tonne), on iron, steel and railway rails 20% (but not less than EUR20 per tonne), and on leather 20% (but not less than EUR200 per tonne).

PROTECTIVE TARIFFS On July 2012, all proceedings in the area of trade protection instruments conducted by national organs of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan were finally entrusted to the Eurasian Economic Commission, which is the main executive organ of the Eurasian Economic Union.

At present, safeguards imposed by Kazakhstan (effective under the Eurasian Economic Union also in Belarus, Russia and Armenia) are in force on the following products: •

•

grain harvesters (since August 2013) – tariff quotas; the quotas on imports to Kazakhstan have been set at: 309 harvesters in 2015 and 204 harvesters in the period from January 1 to August 21, 2016; kitchenware and porcelain tableware (since September 2013) – protective tariffs: USD1,035.3 per tonne until September 28, 2015 and USD591.6 per tonne in the period from September 29, 2015 to September 28, 2016.

QUANTITATIVE QUOTAS In 2016, customs quotas were as follows: 21,000 tonnes on fresh, chilled and frozen beef imports; 128,000 tonnes on frozen poutry giblets and meat included in the tariff item no.

0105; 12,000 tonnes on live domestic poultry: Gallus domesticus, ducks, geese, turkeys and guineafowl, and fresh, chilled and frozen poultry giblets and meat included in the tariff item no. 0105.

CERTIFICATION Under agreements among the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (Kazakhstan,

Russia, Belarus, Kirgizstan and Armenia), uniform technical standards and sanitary and phytosanitary certification are to be gradually introduced in the countries.

IMPORTS/EXPORTS BANS On October 30, 2012, a temporary ban was imposed on the import and transit through Kazakhstan of horned cattle from the European Union and genetic material obtained from these animals in connection with the Schmallenberg virus detected in a number of European Union countries. The ban has not been lifted since 2016.

On February 21, 2014, Kazakhstan imposed a ban on the import from Poland of live pigs and wild boars, and meat and products of their processing, leather, hooves, horns, intestines, bristles and hunting trophies obtained from animals susceptible to ASF, plant-based and animal-based feeds and feed supplements for animals, and equipment for pig keeping, slaughter and cutting up.

Kazakhstan also imposes temporary export bans on plant oils, buckwheat and some petroleum products.

PROMISING AREAS OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION The promising areas of trade and investment cooperation between Polish and Kazakh businesses include construction (including infrastructure projects and the construction of petrochemical facilities), housing and municipal services management, the pharmaceutical industry and medical services, agriculture and agri-food processing, mining machines and equipment, environmental protection technologies, logistics and transport services, the defence industry and chemical industry. There are also prospects for the development of cooperation in supplies of modern machines and energy-efficient equipment and in the IT/ICT sector.

•

* Information about common customs duties on products in countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Kirgizstan and Armenia) is available at the following electronic address: www.eurasiancommission.org/ ru/act/trade/catr/ett/Pages/default.aspx. ** Information about Kazakhstan’s customs duties which differ from the customs tariff applied in the Eurasian Economic Union is available at the following electronic address: http://www. eurasiancommission.org/ru/act/trade/catr/ ttr/Documents/Stavki%20Kazakhstan%20 (23.12.2013).pdf.

EXPO Astana 2017

KAZAKHSTAN

THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTNER IN CENTRAL ASIA

КАЗАХСТАН

ВАЖНЕЙШИЙ ПАРТНЕР В ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЙ АЗИИ NINA DOBRZYŃSKA, Deputy President of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP)/ НИНА ДОБЖИНЬСКА, заместитель председателя, Польское Агентство Развития Предпринимательства (ПАРП)

W

ith the approaching finale of the EXPO 2017 International Exhibition, being held in Astana since 10 June 2017, it is time to make preliminary analyses and summarise our presence at this event. Let us recall that the principal objective of our involvement in the Astana-based EXPO has been to strengthen the economic contacts between Poland and Kazakhstan, with the latter acting as the EXPO host, and with the entire Central Asian region, especially in the fields of supporting Polish entrepreneurs in their search for new sales markets and creating permanent commercial relations.

The aim has also been to develop scientific cooperation inter alia in the fields of clean coal technologies, new extraction technologies, future technologies for electricity production from coal sources, technologies related to biomass and electricity production from animal and plant waste, innovative mining machinery and devices, energy market digitisation, electric mobility, and the revitalisation of post-industrial areas.

Kazakhstan is Poland's most important economic partner in Central Asia. The significance of this country for Polish enterprises stems from its strategic location on the route leading from China to Europe, from its membership of the Eurasian Economic Union, and from the growing receptiveness of the internal market. Polish enterprises view the Kazakh market as offering attractive prospects for pursuing their globalisation strategies. This view is fostered by the internal market’s potential, the growing demand for high-tech products and services produced in Poland, and the opportunity to expand into other Central Asian markets.

The Polish Agency for Enterprise Development provides financial support to Polish businesses wishing to develop cooperation with Kazakhstan. This support is granted as part of 9/2017 polish market

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EXPO Astana 2017

BY PROMOTING POLISH BUSINESSES ON THE KAZAKH MARKET, WE DO NOT LIMIT OURSELVES TO THE BRANCHES OR SECTORS WHICH ARE CLOSELY CONNECTED WITH THE WIDELY-UNDERSTOOD ENERGY INDUSTRY, BEING THE LEADING THEME OF EXPO. Sub-Measure 3.3.3 “Support for SME’s in the promotion of product brands – Go to Brand” within the Smart Growth Operational Programme. Its purpose is to increase the volume of exports achieved by Polish enterprises representing those economy sectors which have the highest export potential, mainly based on innovative products and services, including national smart specialisation. The Programme is to be continued until mid-2019.

By promoting Polish businesses on the Kazakh market, we do not limit ourselves to the branches or sectors which are closely connected with the widely-understood energy industry, being the leading theme of EXPO. Obviously, we are keen on presenting the potential of Polish energy enterprises, and their proposals for innovative solutions for the energy sector, but our main focus is on other forwardlooking industries. Let us take, for instance, the furniture sector. Polish furniture in Kazakhstan accounts for 9% of the entire Kazakh furniture imports. The recent mission of Polish representatives of the furniture industry to Kazakhstan, which took place in July 2017, has certainly borne fruit, with new contracts being signed between Polish producers and Kazakh importers. Furniture exports to Kazakhstan have successfully overcome the crisis occurring in the last 2-3 years, and their value at the end of Q1 2017 reached ca. EUR 4 million.

The agri-food industry is another promising sector, whose products account for 16% of the overall Polish exports to the Kazakh market. Polish agri-food enterprises have been present on the Kazakh market for many years, and representatives of the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture have come to perceive Poland as a strategic partner in the development of the agri-food sector. In fact, Kazakhstan is willing to follow our model for using new technologies in agriculture.

At present, we are focused on the successful organisation of the Polish-Kazakh Economic Forum to be held on 6 September 2017 in Astana. The planned attendance by the President of the Republic of Poland and the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan will certainly add prominence to this largest ever meeting between Polish and Kazakh entrepreneurs.

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What are we expecting after the end of EXPO? Most of all, an increased volume of trade between Poland and the Republic of Kazakhstan, in particular as regards the exports of Polish products characterised by high and modern technologies.

We are also expecting an increase in Polish investments, in both Kazakhstan and the entire Central Asian region, together with extended economic cooperation between Polish and Kazakh enterprises, mainly in the SME sector.

We are hoping for extended cooperation in the environmental protection area. Issues related to nature protection, including forestation, are of special interest to the Kazakh party. We shared our experience in this field at a conference held on 5 July 2017 with the attendance of representatives of the Polish Ministry of the Environment and the General Directorate of State Forests.

Finally, we are looking forward to pursuing development in such areas as tourism, science, culture and sport.

Actually, all the thematic areas discussed during EXPO have demonstrated a significant potential for bilateral cooperation development.

Questions have also emerged concerning the activities supporting entrepreneurs which could be taken after EXPO. It is worth noting that in September and October the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development is going to organise national stands at other (following the Mining Week in Karaganda in June 2017) major international fairs to take place in Kazakhstan, i.e. Kazbuild, Mining Central Week and Power Kazakhstan. These events will provide an opportunity for Polish enterprises to use our exhibition stands to display their publicity materials, or to finally meet their industrial partners.

The Polish Agency for Enterprise Development is going to continue its cooperation with Kazakh business support institutions, and in particular with the “Damu” Entrepreneurship Development Fund JSC, which has become an institutional partner of PARP, having signed a bilateral agreement in 2016. We are sharing our substantial experience in the area of supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and we have already set concrete cooperation objectives to be pursued in Q4 2017, inter alia, in the field of supporting the start-up market.

•

Н

езадолго до завершения действующей с 10 июня 2017 года Международной Выставки EXPO 2017 в Астане, время провести первые анализы и подводить итоги нашего присутствия в этом событии. Напомним, что главной целью, которая вела к нашему участию в астанском EXPO, было укрепление экономических отношений Польши с Казахстаном, хозяином выставки, и всем регионом Центральной Азии – особенно в сфере поддержки польских предпринимателей в поисках новых рынков cбыта и созидание устойчивых торговых отношений. Целью было также развитие научного сотрудничества, в том числе в области чистых уголеродных технологий, современных добывающих технологий, будущие технологии производства энергии из угля, технологии связанных с биомассой и производством энергии из отходов животного и растительного происхождения, инновационные

EXPO Astana 2017

машины и горно-добывающее оборудование, оцифровка энергетического рынка, электромобильность, использование браунфилдов. Казахстан является важнейшим экономическим партнером Польши в Центральной Азии. Значение Казахстана для польских компаний истекает из его стратегического положения на пути из Китая в Европу, членство в Евразийском Экономическом Союзе и растущей потребительской мощности внутреннего рынка. Польские компании воспринимают рынок Казахстана как перспективный рынок для реализации своих глобализационных стратегии. Этому содействует потенциал внутреннего рынка, растущий спрос на продукты и услуги высоких технологий, которые производятся в Польше, а также возможность экспансии на другие рынки Центральной Азии. Польское Агентство Развития Предпринимательства оказывает финансовую поддержку польских компаний, которые хотели бы развивать сотрудничество с Казахстаном. Эта поддержка осуществляется в рамках поддействия 3.3.3 «Поддержка малого и среднего бизнеса в продвижении брендов продукции – Go to Brand» Оперативной Программы Интеллигентное Развитие, целью которой является увеличение объемов экспорта предприятий, представляющих экономические секторы с наибольшим экспортным потенциалом на основе инновационных продуктов и услуг, в том числе Национальные Интеллигентные Специализации. Программа будет продолжаться до середины 2019 г. Продвигая польские компании на казахстанском рынке, мы не ограничиваемся отраслями или секторами, которые тесно связаны с темой Expo, какой является широко понимаемая энергетика. Конечно, мы показываем потенциал польских энергетических компаний, их инновационныe предложения по решениям для промышленности, однако также делаем ставку на другие перспективные отрасли. Как пример я могу привести мебельную отрасль польская мебель в Казахстане это 9% казахстанского импорта мебели. Последняя миссия представителей отрасли в Казахстане в июле 2017 года привела к появлению новых контактов польских производителей и казахстанских импортеров. Экспорт мебели в Казахстан преодолел кризис предшествующих 2-3 лет, и его стоимость в конце первого квартала 2017 года составила около 4 миллионов евро. Другой перспективный сектор это сельскохозяйственно-пищевая промышленность. Сельскохозяйственно-пищевыe продукты питания составляют 16% в структуре польского экспорта на казахстанский рынок. Польские компании этой отрасли уже много лет присутствуют на казахстанском рынке, а представители казахстанского министерства сельского хозяйства воспринимают Польшу как стратегического партнера для развития сельскохозяйственно-пищевого сектора - Казахстан желает брать пример с нашей модели использования новых технологий в сельском хозяйстве. В настоящее время мы сосредоточены на эффективном проведении Польско-Казахстанского Экономического Форума, который состоится 6 сентября 2017 года в Астане. Участие президентов Польской Республики и Республики Казахстан повышает значимость этой крупнейшей в истории встречи польских и казахстанских предпринимателей. Чего мы ожидаем по окончании Expo? Прежде всего, увеличение объема торгового обмена между Польшей и

ПРОДВИГАЯ ПОЛЬСКИЕ КОМПАНИИ НА КАЗАХСТАНСКОМ РЫНКЕ, МЫ НЕ ОГРАНИЧИВАЕМСЯ ОТРАСЛЯМИ ИЛИ СЕКТОРАМИ, КОТОРЫЕ ТЕСНО СВЯЗАНЫ С ТЕМОЙ EXPO, КАКОЙ ЯВЛЯЕТСЯ ШИРОКО ПОНИМАЕМАЯ ЭНЕРГЕТИКА. Республикой Казахстан, а особенно в области экспорта польских продуктов, характеризующихся высокими современными технологиями. Мы также ожидаем увеличения польских инвестиций в Казахстане и в районе Центральной Азии, а также и расширения экономического сотрудничества между польскими и казахстанскими предпринимателями, особенно из сектора малых и средних предприятий. Мы ожидаем развития сотрудничества в области охраны окружающей среды. Проблемы охраны природы, в том числе тематика облесения, это области, которые особенно интересуют казахстанскую сторону. Мы поделились своим опытом в этих областях во время организованного 5 июля 2017 г. конференции при участии представителeй Министерства Охраны Окружающей Среды и Генеральной Дирекции Государственных Лесов. Мы также ожидаем развития сотрудничества в таких областях, как туризм, наукa, культурa и спорт. Надо признать, что все тематические направления, которые мы реализуем на ЭКСПО показывают большой потенциал для развития двустороннего сотрудничества. Рождаются также вопросы, какие действия по поддержке предпринимателей будет иметь место после окончания EXPO. Сейчас, в сентябре и октябре, Польское Агентство Развития Предпринимательства организует следующее – после Mining Week в Караганде в июне 2017 года - национальные стенды на наиважнейших ярмарках и выставках на территории Казахстана, т.е. Kazbuild, Mining Central Week и Power Kazakhstan, в ходе которых у польских компаний будет возможность воспользоваться нашим рекламным стендом, предоставить свои рекламные материалы, или, наконец, встретиться с партнерами по отрасли. Польское Агентство Развития Предпринимательства будет продолжать сотрудничество с казахстанскими учреждениями окружения бизнеса – особенно с Фондом Развития Предпринимательства ДАМУ АО, который после подписания двустороннего соглашения в 2016 году, является институциональным партнером ПАРП. Мы делимся нашим богатым опытом в области поддержки компаний из сектора микро-, малых и средних предприятий. На четвертый квартал этого года мы уже наметили конкретные направления сотрудничества, нп. в области поддержки рын• ка start-up.

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EXPO Astana 2017

KAZAKH INVEST A COMPANY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF KAZAKH BUSINESS...

MAXAT KABASHEV, President of Kazakh Invest, talks to Andrzej Kazimierski.

Mr Kabashev, we are meeting in a very interesting place, at the site of EXPO 2017 in Astana, where a company you manage, Kazakh Invest, has its registered office. It is an exhibition space, so why have you chosen this location?

We are thinking about the future. We occupy a building designed as office space, which is one of the parts of the future business, finance and exhibition centre, due to be built on the site of EXPO. For that reason, all the facilities have been constructed with the use of the most advanced technologies currently available. In the near future, Central Asia’s leading financial institutions, whose scope of impact on economic development stretches further than Kazakhstan, will be located here. These will be both domestic and foreign institutions.

PM

And what kind of company is Kazakh Invest, and what are its objectives?

As you know, one of Kazakhstan's priorities is to encourage investments for the national economy. We are aware that it involves a lot of effort to attract foreign investors, both medium-sized companies and large multinational companies, to invest in our country and not somewhere else. That is why the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan has initiated undertakings involving a number of reforms aimed at improving the investment climate and implementing economic and investment policies according to the best international practices.

Our Kazakh Invest National Company was established as part of this priority. Our main task is to attract investors, encouraging them to run their business activities in our country. We are here to provide them with all the means necessary to implement their business plans efficiently. We are operating on the basis of the “one-stop shop” principle, which means one coordination centre for the development of economic zones in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The stages in supporting investment projects include holding meetings and negotiations with PM

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investors organised to define their expectations, preparing projects together, providing full support during the implementation of projects, and providing services in the post-implementation stage. The task of Kazakh Invest is to provide full support to foreign investors, from developing an idea to launching production in Kazakhstan and export activities. Such a comprehensive approach will allow a more effective and rational business activity.

Of course, we are only a support institution, and investors are responsible for all their activities, making their own decisions and implementing their plans.

And what is the practical side of your activities?

Pursuant to the Decision of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 100 of 1 March 2017, Kazakh Invest National Export and Investment Agency, Joint-Stock Company was renamed Kazakh Invest National Company JSC. We can say that we began working in a new format on that day. We are trying to be a modern institution making use of recognised models from other countries. The example of Poland, where international business is willing to invest thanks to the favourable climate created by the authorities, is very important to us, and we are drawing on the Polish experience. There are two sections operating within Kazakh Invest: the investment-promotion section and the regional support and development section. We have an extensive network of representatives abroad, who are responsible for direct contacts with local business organisations and for providing full support to potential investors. The Company is also establishing branches in all the regions of Kazakhstan, which is aimed at providing State services to interested parties and solving operational problems as soon as they occur. I believe that we will soon be able to see the first measurable outcomes of our work. We would like to pursue similar achievements as Poland in this respect, because Poland is an unquestionable leader in the field of encouraging foreign • investments.

PM

EXPO Astana 2017

KAZAKH INVEST КОМПАНИЯ ПО РАЗВИТИЮ КАЗАХСТАНСКОГО БИЗНЕСА ... Говорит Председатель Правления компании KAZAKH INVEST МАКСАТ КАБАШЕВ в разговоре с Анджеем Кажимерским Господин Председатель, мы встречаемся в очень интересном месте - в Астане на территории выставки EXPO 2017, где находится ​​офис управляемой Вами компании KAZAKH INVEST, и все же это выставочная площадь, почему как раз такое место? Это уже мышление о будущем, здесь мы занимаем офисный объект, который с этой целью был построен и является одним из элементов будущего делового, финансового и выставочного Центра, который будет создан на территории выставки ЭКСПО. Поэтому все находящиеся здесь объекты исполняются в самых современных доступных в настоящее время технологиях. В недалеком будещем здесь появятся ведущие в регионе Центральной Азии финансовые учреждения, влияющие на развитие не только Казахстана. И это будут учреждения не только из нашей страны, но и из других стран.

PM

Какого типa компанией является KAZAKH INVEST, какова его миссия? Как известно, привлечение инвестиций в национальную экономику является одним из приоритетов Казахстана. Мы понимаем, что самим нужно проделать много работы, чтобы привлечь иностранный бизнес, как маленький, так и крупный международный, к инвестиции именно у нас, а не где-то в другом месте. Поэтому Правительство Республики Казахстан начало работу, связанную с проведением ряда реформ, направленных на улучшение инвестиционного климата и проведение экономической и инвестиционной политики в соответствии с наилучшими международными практиками. Наша Национальная компания «KAZAKH INVEST» была создана в рамках этого приоритета. И наша главная задача состоит в том, чтобы привлечь инвесторов для реализации своего бизнеса в нашей стране. Мы созданы, чтобы предоставить инвесторам все, что необходимо для эффективной реализации бизнесных планов. Можно сказать, что мы действуем по принципу так называемого «единого окна», т.е. единого координационного центра по вопросам развития экономических зон Республики Казахстан. Этапы поддержки инвестиционных проектов предвидят встречи и переговоры с инвестором, чтобы определить его ожидания, совместная разработка проекта, полная поддержка реализации проекта и поддержка после его окончания. Таким образом, задание KAZAKH INVEST состоит в том, чтобы оказать полную поддержку иностранным инвесторaм - от разработки идеи до начала производства в Казахстане, а потом выход на экспорт. Такой комплексный подход позволит более эффективно и рационально вести бизнес. Очевидно то, что мы являемся поддерживающим учреждением, и за все действия несут PM

ответственность инвесторы, которые принимают свои собственные независимые решения и осуществляют их. А как уже практически должна выглядеть эта работа? В настоящем измененном виде, согласно Постановлению Правительства Республики Казахстан от 01.03.2017г. № 100 Акционерное Общество «Национальное агентство по экспорту и инвестициям «KAZNEX INVEST» переименовано в Акционерное Общество «Национальное Общество «Национальная компания «KAZAKH INVEST». И можно сказать, что с этого дня мы работaем в новой форме, стараемся быть современным учреждением использующим в своей работе признанные примеры из других стран. Пример Польши, где иностранный бизнес, благодаря созданному благоприятному климату, очень охотно инвестирует, очень важен для нас, и я могу сказать, что охотно воспользуемся некоторыми решениями польского опыта. В рамках KAZAKH INVEST был создан блок с целью привлечения инвестиций и блок региональной поддержки и развития. Мы имеем широкую сеть представителей за рубежом, которые находятся в непосредственном контакте с соответствующими местными коммерческими организациями и оказывают полную поддержку потенциальным инвесторам. Компания также имеет филиалы во всех регионах Казахстана, что должно предоставить возможность получения государственных услуг заинтересованным сторонам и быстрого решения оперативных проблем. Я думаю, что в скором времени мы получим первые ощутимые результаты наших усилий. Мы хотели бы, чтобы они были таковы, как в Польше, которая является безусловным лидером в привлече• нии иностранных инвестиций.

PM

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EXPO Astana 2017

KAZAKHSTAN: TESTING POLAND’S

EXPORT POTENTIAL КАЗАХСТАН: ТЕСТИРОВАНИЕ ПОЛЬСКОГО ЭКСПОРТНОГО ПОТЕНЦИАЛА

2017 promises to be another record year for Polish exports. It is worthwhile to direct this appetite for foreign contracts onto non-European markets, which offer the biggest development potential for our businesses. The rapidly growing markets of Asia, South America and Africa is where the Polish Investment and Trade Agency wants to help Polish businesses to turn their potential into money. This year, the gateway to the first of these continents has opened especially wide thanks to Expo 2017, which is now taking place in Astana, but also thanks to PAIH opening its Asian offices. Предвидится еще один рекордный год в польском экспорте. Стоит этот растущий апетит на заграничные контракты направить на за-европейские пути, где скрыты огромные возможности для развития наших предпренимателей. Быстро растущие рынки Азии, Южной Америки или Африки – именно там Польское Агентство Инвестиции и Торговли (PAIH) желает помочь отечественному бизнесу обратить в деньги их потенциал. В этом году ворота в первый из этих континентов открылись особенно широко, благодаря продолжающейся EXPO 2017 в Астане, но также и за счет открываемых PAIH азиатских филиалов Агентства.

President of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) TOMASZ PISULA / ТОМАШ ПИСУЛЯ, председатель Польского Агентства Инвестиции и Торговли (PAIH)

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EXPO Astana 2017

STEPPING OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE After nearly 30 years of a rapidly developing market economy in Poland, many Polish firms have become ready to ask the question in what direction to go to continue to develop.

One of the obvious answers is foreign expansion. I have to admit that most of the Polish businesses have quite conservative strategies in this respect. As much as 80% of them operate only in Poland and other European Union markets.

Of course, the EU is a large market of 500 million consumers and a common customs area. It is close and secure. And the formal framework and costs of activity on the market can easily be projected. The risk is low so chances for big money are also relatively small.

Meanwhile, Polish businesses - especially those which are already well-established on the EU market, but also those which are able to fill technological niches on specific markets with their innovative products - have a potential to step out of the European comfort zone, fight for more and do so much further away from home. Developing countries with dynamic economies, but often with high market entry barriers, should become the main target for Polish businesses. It is risk-takers that win, especially in business.

However, if Polish firms are equipped with appropriate tools for economic information management it is possible to control the risk of a project’s failure in a different business, legal and cultural environment. The Polish Investment and Trade Agency will help Polish firms in this respect. The Polish government has assigned the agency with the task of professionally calculating a market’s potential for products and services offered by companies interested in it.

PAIH: THE FIRST CONTACT FOR BUSINESS The Polish Investment and Trade Agency has a strong mandate for its mission. At the beginning of August 2017 the law on PAIH came into force after being adopted by the parliament and signed by President Andrzej Duda. It has streamlined the system for promoting the Polish economy, making it more efficient, including in financial terms. Since that time a single institution, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, has been responsible for export and investment promotion activities. The agency has become the first point of contact and a source of comprehensive knowledge about business opportunities for Polish exporters and investors. PAIH will be supporting them in their activity at home and abroad.

The PAIH Trade Offices abroad will become the “ears and eyes” for the Agency, and consequently for Polish firms, outside Poland. It is a rapidly expanding network of offices across the world, especially in the distant places which offer the biggest potential for Polish business. Experts with long experience on a specific market will not only provide firms with the knowledge needed to operate there, but will also work with the firms to prepare in detail their strategy for operations on the market. They will assist a firm at the start of its activity by suggesting to it suitable local

partners, organizing B2B meetings, and taking the entrepreneurs for trade missions and study visits to the place where the future project is to be implemented. Twenty foreign offices of the Agency will be set up by the end of 2017. Ultimately, their number will reach 70. Asia has become the first target for PAIH. One in three newly opened PAIH offices is located in this continent. In the first half of 2017 alone, PAIH launched four Asian offices: in Shanghai, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Tehran, a city which is opening up after decades of isolation.

The Agency already supports Polish firms through these offices.

Asia attracts Polish businesses with access to its rapidly growing and increasingly affluent and conscious population of consumers, demand for high technologies and the prospect of lucrative infrastructure contracts, from which experienced Polish companies could benefit.

DIRECTION: ASTANA

ASIA ATTRACTS POLISH BUSINESSES WITH ACCESS TO ITS RAPIDLY GROWING AND INCREASINGLY AFFLUENT AND CONSCIOUS POPULATION OF CONSUMERS, DEMAND FOR HIGH TECHNOLOGIES AND THE PROSPECT OF LUCRATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE CONTRACTS, FROM WHICH EXPERIENCED POLISH COMPANIES COULD BENEFIT.

Called a gateway to Asia, Kazakhstan is an excellent and safe “testing ground” for Polish firms to try out expansion in this part of the world. The country is now in the process of very rapid growth. Just like Poland in Central Europe, Kazakhstan is now one of the most dynamic economic centres in Central Asia. It owes much of its economic transition success to opening up widely to cooperation with other countries. In 2015, Kazakhstan joined the World Trade Organization. In the same year, the country signed an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the European Union.

The new Polish players entering Kazakhstan will not be alone on the market. The economic leader of Central Asia enjoys a good reputation among entrepreneurs (35th place in the Doing Business 2017 report). This may be confirmed by at least 200 Polish-owned businesses already operating in Kazakhstan. They do business mainly in the oil and gas sector – they prospect for and develop oil and gas deposits. The Polish businesses which have noticed a development potential in the Customs Union which has 9/2017 polish market

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turned the whole region into a single market with access to 170 million consumers have also found in Kazakhstan a safe springboard to their business expansion in Central Asia. Among the businesses are Polish producers of food, chemical products, cosmetics, medicines and machines, as well as building and transport companies. Transport companies, in particular, may benefit from Kazakhstan’s location close to China and, consequently on the New Silk Road. Especially as Polish ports and railway lines running from the city of Łódź to eastern Poland also make up part of the Road.

There are interesting prospects for the building sector in this part of Asia. The Polish Cluster of Construction Exporters, visiting Atyrau Region in spring 2017, was invited by the Development Committee at the Kazakh Ministry of Development and Investment and the biggest Kazakh contractors carrying out infrastructure projects to take part in tens of construction projects in the PPP system. The Committee wants to organize more study visits of this kind for Polish firms operating in other sectors. Polish furniture makers should also accept such an invitation. Their products shown at the Polish Furniture Days at Expo 2017 in Astana in July made a great impression.

This example indicates that Kazakhstan’s authorities try to attract the interest of Polish firms, seeing a large potential for cooperation. They also hope that joint Polish-Kazakh projects will bring this country, a leader of economic change, closer to the European community. This is why the Polish and Kazakh authorities have worked for some time to intensify bilateral economic relations. A year ago, at the end of August 2016, during the Poland-Kazakhstan Business Forum, of which PAIH was an organizer, a number of institutional agreements were signed in the presence of President Andrzej Duda and President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The agreements make it possible for the two countries’ banks – BGK and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan – to finance investment projects, and to insure transactions under an agreement between KUKE and Kazexportgarant. The agreements will also streamline the registration of products exported from Poland to this part of Asia.

Quick access to this huge country is another argument which, I hope, will encourage Polish businesses to take a closer look at the Kazakh market. This year, the Kazakh authorities allowed Polish people to travel to this country without visas. And at the end of May, the Polish national carrier Lot launched an air connection to Astana, with as many as four flights a week. It is the first direct connection linking Poland with Central Asia. As a result, the road to the capital of Expo 2017 and a market with a great potential has been shortened to a mere several hours.

Dear entrepreneurs, Kazakhstan is within reach for you, just as the markets of the European Union are.

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ВЫХОД ИЗ ЗОНЫ КОМФОРТА После почти 30 лет быстро развивающейся свободной рыночной экономики в Польше, многие отечественные компании созрели, чтобы задать вопрос: в каком направлении

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идти, чтобы продолжать развиваться. Единственный очевидный ответ это иностранная экспансия. Я должен признать, что большинство польских предприятий придерживается в этом отношении довольно консервативной стратегии. Целые 80% из них работают за пределами страны только на территории Европейского Союза. Конечно, ЕС это большой рынок 500 миллионов людей и общая таможенная зона. Это удобно, безопасно, и формальные рамки и затраты на эту деятельность можно легко предвидеть. Низкий уровень риска, к тому же относительно меньшие шансы на большие деньги. Между тем компании, особенно те уже устоявшияся в Союзе, но также и те которые своими инновационными технологическими продуктами могут заполнить ниши на данном рынке, имеют потенциал, чтобы выйти из зоны европейского комфорта и побороться за большее. И то гораздо дальше от дома. Их целью должны стать в первую очередь развивающиеся страны с динамично развивающейся экономикой, но часто с большими барьерами для входа на рынок. Кто не рискует, тот не выигрывает, особенно в бизнесе! Риск провала проекта в иной деловой, правовой и культурной среде можно однако контролировать, если польские фирмы будут оснащены соответствующими инструментами управления экономической информацией. B этом поможет Польское Агентство Инвестиции и Торговли. Именно нa нее польским правительством возложена задача профессионального расчета потенциального выбрaнного вместе с компанией рынка с точки зрения продуктов и услуг, предлагаемых предпринимателем.

PAIH: ПЕРВЫЙ КОНТАКТ ДЛЯ БИЗНЕСА Польское Агентство Инвестиции и Торговли имеет сильный мандат для своей миссии. В начале августа 2017 г., после принятия парламентом и подписания президентом Польши, Анджеем Дудой, вступил в силу закон о PAIH. Он упорядачивает систему продвижения польской экономики, делая эту задачу более эффективной, также в финансовом плане. С этого момента про-инвестиционная и про-экспортная деятельности будут сосредоточены в одном учреждении, а именно в Польском Агентстве Инвестиции и Торговли. Таким образом, Агентство стало точкой первого контакта и источником комплексных информаций о бизнесных возможностях для предпринимателей. Дело касается отечественных экспортеров, а также и инвесторов, которых PAIH поддержит в их деятельности в Польше и за рубежом. Глазами и ушами Агенства - а, таким образом, и польских компаний - за пределами страны становятся Заграничные Торговые Бюро PAIH (ЗТБ). Это быстро растущая сеть офисов по всему миру, особенно в отдаленных местах, и с наибольшим потенциалом для польского бизнеса. Специалисты с многолетним опытом работы на выбранном рынке не только оснастят предпринимателей в знания, как действовать на месте. Разработают совместно с фирмой стратегию ее деятельности на новом месте. Помогут также на старте: предложат соответствующих местных партнеров, организуют встречи B2B, заберут на миссии и ознакомительные поездки на место реализации будущего проекта. До конца

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2017 года начнут работать двадцать иностранных офисов Агентства, и в конечном счете семьдесят. На прицеле PAIH в первую очередь находится Азия. Каждый третий открытый PAIH офис, находится на этом континенте. Только в первой половине 2017 года PAIH запустила и поддерживает польские компании в четырех азиатских отделах в Шанхае, Сингапуре, Хо Ши Мин Сити и в открывающимся по десятилетиях изоляционизма Тегеране. Азия манит польских предпринимателей доступом к быстро растущей, все более обеспеченной и сознательной группе потребителей, спросом на высокие технологии, но также и перспективой участия в выгодных инфраструктурных контрактах, которыми могли бы воспользоваться опытные компании с польской родословной.

НАПРАВЛЕНИЕ - АСТАНА Называемый воротами в Азию, Казахстан это доскональный и безопасный испытательный полигон для польских компаний, чтобы протестировать экспансию в этом регионе мира. Страна переживает период чрезвычайно быстрого роста. Так же как Польша в Центральной Европе, на сегодняшний день является одним из самых динамично развивающихся экономических центров Центральной Азии. Своим успехом в экономических преобразованиях в немалой степени обязан широкому открытию международного сотрудничества. В 2015 году Казахстан присоединился к Всемирной Торговой Организации. В этом же году он подписал Углубленное Соглашение о Партнерстве и Сотрудничестве с Европейским Союзом. Входящие в Казахстан новые игроки из Польши не будут там одиноки. Экономический лидер Центральной Азии имеет хорошую репутацию среди предпринимателей (35-е место в рейтинге Doing Business 2017). Это может подтвердить по крайней мере две сотни уже действующих в Казахстане предпринимателей с польским капиталом. Они ведут бизнес, главным образом, в нефтяном и газовом секторе; разыскивают и разрабатывают залежи нефти и природного газа. Безопасный форпост на деловом пути по Центральной Азии нашли в Казахстане также те польские компании, которые усмотрели потенциал вТаможенном союзе, объединяющим весь регион в единый рынок, с доступом к 170 миллионам потребителей. Есть среди них польские производители продуктов питания, химических продуктов, косметики, лекарств, оборудования или строительные и транспортные компании. Особенно те последние могут извлечь выгоду из расположения Казахстана в непосредственной близости от Китая, и, таким образом, на Новом Шелковом Пути, которого евросоюзные остановки ведут через порты Померании или железные дороги из Лодзи по Восточную Польшу. Интересные перспективы ждут в этой части Азии строительный сектор. Польский Кластер Экспортеров Строительства, посетивший весной 2017 года Атыраускую область, получил приглашение от властей Комитета по развитию Министерства развития и инвестиций Казахстана а также крупнейших реализаторов инфраструктурных инвестиций, чтобы принять участие в десятках строительных проектов

с моделью государственно-частногo партнерствa. Представители Комитета хотят организовать последующие секторные ознакомительные поездки для других польских компаний. Конечно, таким приглашением должны воспользоваться польские производители мебели. Их предложение представленное в июльские дни польской мебели на EXPO 2017 в Астане произвело большое впечатление. Этот пример показывает, что казахстанские власти стараются заинтересовать польских предпринимателей, наблюдая с другой стороны значительный потенциал для сотрудничества. Они расчитывают также на то, что совместные проекты будут сближать этого кавказского лидера экономических изменений с европейским сообществом. Поэтому уже длительное время польские и казахстанские власти проводят работу по интенсификации двусторонних экономических отношений. Ровно год назад, в конце августа 2016 года во время со-организованного PAIH бизнесного форума Польша - Казахстан, в присутствии президентов Дуды и Назарбаева подписано ряд институциональных договоров. Они позволяют, в частности, финансирование банками двух стран - БГК и Банкoм Развития Казахстана - инвестиционных проектов, взаимно страховать сделки (соглашение между Корпорацией Страхования Экспортных Кредитов и КазЭкспортГарант). Они облегчают регистрацию продуктов, которые из Польши попадут в эту часть Азии. Облегчением и еще одним аргументом, который - я надеюсь - будут поощрять польских предпринимателей пристальней взглянуть на рынок Казахстана, является быстрый доступ к этой огромной стране. В этом году власти Казахстана позволили полякам путешествовать по стране без визы. В дополнение, в конце мая, LOT начал регулярное сообщение с Астаной, которoе выполняются четыре раза в неделю. Это первый прямой рейс соединяющий Польшу с Центральной Азией. Таким образом, дорога не только в столицу ЭКСПО 2017 года, но и к рынку с огромным потенциалом сократилась до всего лишь нескольких часов. Уважаемые предприниматели! Сегодня Казахстан находится в вашем диапазоне, так же как и рынки Европейского Союза.

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АЗИЯ МАНИТ ПОЛЬСКИХ ПРЕДПРИНИМАТЕЛЕЙ ДОСТУПОМ К БЫСТРО РАСТУЩЕЙ, ВСЕ БОЛЕЕ ОБЕСПЕЧЕННОЙ И СОЗНАТЕЛЬНОЙ ГРУППЕ ПОТРЕБИТЕЛЕЙ, СПРОСОМ НА ВЫСОКИЕ ТЕХНОЛОГИИ, НО ТАКЖЕ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВОЙ УЧАСТИЯ В ВЫГОДНЫХ ИНФРАСТРУКТУРНЫХ КОНТРАКТАХ, КОТОРЫМИ МОГЛИ БЫ ВОСПОЛЬЗОВАТЬСЯ ОПЫТНЫЕ КОМПАНИИ С ПОЛЬСКОЙ РОДОСЛОВНОЙ.

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ПРИГЛАШАЕМ ПОЛЬСКИЙ БИЗНЕС К АКТИВНОМУ СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВУ С КАЗАХСТАНСКИМИ ЭКСПОРТЕРАМИ Интервью Председателя правления компании KAZAKH EXPORT РУСЛАНА ИСКАКОВА для журнала «Polish Market» Компания KAZAKH EXPORT была создана в 2017 году. Каковы цели и приоритеты компании в рамках продвижения экспорта?

В

2003 году была создана «Государственная стра хова я компания по стра хованию экспортных кредитов и инвестиций», а осенью 2010‑го ее преобра зова ли в Экспортно-кредитную страховую корпорацию «КазЭкспортГарант» для развития несырьевого экспорта. В начале 2017 года на базе «КазЭкспортГарант» была создана компания KazakhExport, призванная объединить усилия и соответствующие инструменты по продвижению казахстанского экспорта. Компании KazakhExport отводится одна из ключевых ролей по реализации экспортной стратегии Казахстана, преследующей целью увеличение обработанного экспорта вдвое к 2025 году. В 2017 году KazakhExport улучшил свой арсенал по продвижению несырьевого экспорта Казахстана, который бьет по нескольким целям одновременно. Это страхование экспортных операций от риска неуплаты, следующая мера — предэкспортное кредитование казахстанских компаний для выполнения контрактных обязательств, замыкает пакет основных инструментов торговое финансирование

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импортера, если он стеснен в денежных средствах. Арсенал поддержки несырьевого экспорта усилен также дополнительными инструментами — страхованием займа, страхованием гарантии для экспортеров услуг, страхованием авансового платежа и проч. Сейчас рассматривается вопрос о субсидировании процентной ставки по торговому финансированию и госгарантиям по страховым обязательствам KazakhExport. Первый якорный продукт — страхование кредита экспортера. Простыми словами, страхование экспортных контрактов от риска неплатежа со стороны компании-импортера. Следующий ключевой продукт — торговое финансирование. Его задача в том, чтобы простимулировать импортера казахстанской продукции, предоставив ему доступ к удешевленному кредиту через межбанковское финансирование. Такой инструмент позволит иностранной компании заключить контракт с казахстанским предприятием, при котором банк-экспортер предоставляет деньги банку-импортеру для финансирования сделки. Третий якорный продукт — предэкспортное финансирование, это кредитование экспортера на пополнение оборотных средств для производства экспортной продукции.

KazakhExport получил от Национального банка лицензию на страхование займов. Если экспортеру необходимо привлечь финансирование на пополнение оборотных средств, чтобы выполнить экспортный контракт, он может обратиться в институт развития и получить страховое покрытие по займу. Таким образом, решается вопрос нехватки залогового обеспечения или упрощается получение кредита, если банк выставляет много требований к заемщику. Следующий новый инструмент — страхование гарантии для экспортеров услуг, у которого большой потенциал. Примером может служить использование этого продукта консорциумом из казахстанской компании «Жол жoндеуші» и итальянской Todini Costruzioni Generali, который выиграл тендер на строительство автомобильных дорог в Грузии. Сумма контракта — 52 млн долларов. Модернизация пакета финансовых продуктов на этом не заканчивается. Компания KazakhExport выстроила сотрудничество с другими институтами развития. В частности, Евразийский банк развития, Банк развития Казахстана и «Аграрная кредитная корпорация» уже приступили к принятию страховых покрытий KazakhExport при финансировании экспортеров на пополнение оборотных средств. Цель в этом — привлечение максимального количества кредитных организаций, чтобы у казахстанских экспортеров был широкий выбор, начиная от коммерческих банков и заканчивая отечественными и международными институтами развития. С удовлетворением отмечается успешные примеры казахстанских компаний по увеличению экспорта с применением инструментов поддержки KazakhExport. Например, кондитерская фабрика «Баян Сулу» (Костанай) наращивает экспорт за счет расширения географии продаж

КОМПАНИИ KAZAKHEXPORT ОТВОДИТСЯ ОДНА ИЗ КЛЮЧЕВЫХ РОЛЕЙ ПО РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ ЭКСПОРТНОЙ СТРАТЕГИИ КАЗАХСТАНА, ПРЕСЛЕДУЮЩЕЙ ЦЕЛЬЮ УВЕЛИЧЕНИЕ ОБРАБОТАННОГО ЭКСПОРТА ВДВОЕ К 2025 ГОДУ. ПОЛЬСКОЕ НАПРАВЛЕНИЕ МОЖЕТ ИМЕТЬ ВАЖ‑ НОЕ ЗНАЧЕНИЕ ДЛЯ КАЗАХСТАНСКОГО ЭКСПОРТА. ежегодно на 10-15%, благодаря, в том числе, страхованию экспортных кредитов. Также успешный кейс — продвижение продукции холдинга Alageum Group (AG) на зарубежных рынках с использованием отдельных инструментов торгового финансирования. Компания нацелена на новые рынки, освоить которые планируется с помощью экспортного страхования. Убежден, что польское направление может иметь важное значение для казахстанского экспорта. Мы активно развиваем сотрудничество с Корпорацией по страхованию экспортных кредитов КУКЕ в целях содействия и обеспечения качественной поддержки для представителей деловых кругов Казахстана и Польши. Мы приглашаем польский бизнес к активному сотрудничеству с казахстанскими экспортерами и надеемся, что запланированный в Астане 6 сентября 2017 года казахстанско-польский бизнес-форум позволит расширить возможности торгово-экономического и инвестиционного сотрудничества между двумя государствами.

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EXPORT INSURANCE

AS THE DRIVER OF TRADE BETWEEN POLAND AND KAZAKHSTAN

PIOTR STOLARCZYK, VicePresident of the Export Credit Insurance Corporation (KUKE SA) / ПЁТР СТОЛЯРЧИК, вицепредседатель Правления КУКЕ

СТРАХОВАНИЕ ЭКСПОРТА КАК ПОДДЕРЖКА ТОРГОВОГО ОБМЕНА МЕЖДУ ПОЛЬШЕЙ И КАЗАХСТАНОМ

P

olish exporters consider Kazakhstan a prospective market and a land of great opportunity. This is evidenced, for instance, by their large turnout at EXPO in Astana.

Due to its central location, size, and importance in Central Asia, Kazakhstan is seen as a potential economic partner for Poland, which can also help us gain a better commercial foothold in other countries in the region.

Kazakhstan already plays a crucial role in trade between Poland and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Even though geographically distant, it is our major partner in this group, next to Poland’s neighbouring countries.

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The privatisation processes and the efforts to diversify the economy in Kazakhstan are providing even more opportunities for strengthening our mutual economic relations.

As in any other areas, exciting opportunities involve some risk. These dynamic circumstances are associated with uncertainty, and this causes exporters and investors to seek to protect themselves against it.

Export Credit Insurance Corporation (KUKE) recognises and satisfies this need. For more than 25 years now, KUKE has provided Polish exporters with export insurance to ensure their commercial security across the majority of

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global markets. Our Corporation is the only insurance provider in Poland to deliver commercial and investment insurance products guaranteed by the State.

For many years, we have insured transactions conducted on the Kazakh market. However, we still feel that our export and investment insurance capabilities are not fully recognised by all exporters.

We are able to provide comprehensive insurance cover against the failure of international, including Kazakh, clients, to pay for goods and services supplied by Polish exporters. This cover applies to both fast-moving consumer goods and investment projects. We accept recurring transactions based on payments deferred for up to several dozen days, and provide insurance for long-term investment loans granted to importers by banks.

There are many advantages to such insurance.Firstly, exporters can be sure to receive payment, which is of key importance. This certainty allows Polish companies to develop their networks of Kazakh clients, and, consequently, to increase their turnover, safe in the knowledge that their transactions are secure.

Secondly, insurance can directly translate into the improved financial liquidity of exporters, since trade liabilities insured with KUKE can be more easily sold to financing institutions.

For more complex transactions (the supply of production lines, the construction of industrial or agricultural facilities, or real property), our insurance is the key to ensuring the direct involvement of a bank financing Polish exports. With our insurance cover, the bank will be ready to grant a loan directly to the importer or its local bank with a view to financing an export contract implemented by a Polish company for a client in Kazakhstan.

As the official Polish export-credit agency, we have established bilateral cooperation with KazakhExport, our counterpart in Kazakhstan. We work together to identify areas of cooperation. We rely on KazakhExport to support transactions conducted on the Kazakh market by Polish exporters who have taken advantage of our cover. This involvement of our local partner with extensive expertise • on the local market is invaluable for us.

П

ольские экспортеры воспринимают Казахстан как перспективный рынок и страну широких возможностей. Свидельсвует об этом хотя бы, например, их многочисленное присутствие на EXPO в Астане. Благодаря центральному расположению, размеру и значимости Казахстана в Центральной Азии, мы усматриваем в экономическом сотрудничестве между Польшей и Казахстаном также возможности увеличения польского коммерческого присутствия в других странах региона. В торговом обмене Польши со странами СНГ Казахстан уже сейчас занимает очень важное место. В этой группе - несмотря на значительное географическое расстояние - Казахстан с точки зрения торгового оборота является нашим крупнейшим партнером, не считая государств, непосредственно примыкающих к Польше.

Происходящие в Казахстане процессы приватизации и действия, направленные на диверсификацию экономики создают дальнейшие шансы увеличения динамики экономических взаимоотношений с Польшей. Как и в каждой области, большие шансы связаны с некоторыми элементами риска. В динамически меняющихся обстоятельствах появляются элементы неопределенности, перед которыми экспортеры и инвесторы желают защититься. На встречу этим потребностям выходит Корпорация по Страхованию Экспортных Кредитов (KUKE). Уже более 25 лет КUКЕ обеспечивает польским экспортером безопасность в торговле на рынках большинства стран мира, проводя экспортное страхование. Корпорация является единственным объектом в Польше предлагающим продукты страхования торговли и инвестиций, гарантированные государственным казначейством. Уже много лет мы страхуем сделки проводимые на казахстанском рынке. Тем не менее, у нас есть предчуствие, что предлагаемые нами возможности страхования инвестиции и экспорта не достаточно знакомы и известны всем экспортерaм. Мы в состоянии обеспечить полномасштабное защитное страхование от неоплаты товаров и услуг, предоставляемых польскими экспортерами для иностранных покупателей, в том числе и казахстанских. Это касается как быстрооборотных средств, так и инвестиционных проектов. Мы акцептируем повторяющиеся трансакции, осуществляемые на условиях отсрочки платежа с многодневным горизонтом, а также страхуем долгосрочные инвестиционные кредиты, предоставленные импортерам банками. У страховок много преимуществ. Во-первых, для экспортера решающее значение имеет обеспечение получения платежа. Эта уверенность позволяет предпринимателям из Польши безопасно расширять сеть своих казахстанских клиентов, а тем самым увеличивать оборот. Во-вторых, страхование может косвенно повлиять на увеличение ликвидности экспортера, так как застрахованные в КUКЕ торговые дебиторские задолженности легче перепродать финансовым учреждениям. Для крупных сделок (поставки производственных линии, строительство промышленных и сельскохозяйственных объектов, недвижимости) страхование КUКЕ является ключом к непосредственному подключению банка финансирующего польский экспорт. Получив страховое покрытие в КUКЕ, банк готов предоставить кредит непосредственно импортеру или местному банку, с предназначением финансирования экспортного контракта, реализованного польской компанией - получателю в Казахстане. Как польское официальное агентство по экспортным кредитам, мы создали двустороннее сотрудничество с нашим казахстанским коллегой - KazakhExport. Мы находимся в постоянном контакте в поиске общих сфер деятельности. Мы рассчитываем на участие KazakhExport в сделках, осуществляемых польскими экспортерами на рынке Казахстана при поддержке КUКЕ. Участие местного партнера с углубленным знанием местных условий для нас бесценно.

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ПОЛЬША

EXPO Astana 2017

МЕСТО МЕЧТЫ

П

ольша знаменита ж ​​ ивописным ландшафтом, богатым культурным наследием, великолепными замками и разнообразными архитектурными и историческими памятниками. Страна наделена захватывающими прибрежными пляжами, прекрасными озерами, обильными островами, руслами рек и густыми зелеными лесами, которые очаровывают туристов со всего мира. Восточные равнины Польши широко окружены водоемами, а в северной части преобладают сверкающиe песком пляжаи. Кристально чистая вода в Балтийском море содержит самый низкий уровень соли в мире, а ее пляжи изобилуют чистым мелким песком. Южный регион Польши характерен множеством гор. Польша - увлекательная страна, которая удивляет большинство посетителей с первого раза. Это место для тех, кто любит достопримечательности. В Польше насчитывается 16 объектов ЮНЕСКО, некоторые из которых являются целыми городскими комплексами, такими как Старые города Варшавы, Кракова, Торуня и Замостя. Многие другие города имеют исторические центра, замки и дворцы. Из-за бурной истории польских городов

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каждый польский город отличается своей культурой, стилем и наследием. Путешествие по экзотическим пляжам определенно интересно. Дети восхищаются убежищем тюленей, домиком бабочек и высокими песчаными дюнами вдоль побережья. Путешествие через парк Юрского периода в Балтове увлекает посетителей. Туристы могут ходить без страха с дикими животными, а также кормить их в парке диких животных в Кадзидлове или в Ферме оленей в Косеве. Благородные пocлeлeдникoвыe пейзaжи морены, камеи, друмлины, террасы, цирки и висячие долины в ландшафтном парке Сувалки. Уединенные маршруты через дикую растительность и звук птиц, щебещущих вокруг, являются экзотическим опытом для новобрачных. Музей романтизма в нео-барочном дворце завораживает пары. Польша также является раем для любителей природы. Это одна из немногих стран Европы, которой повезло иметь большое разнообразие ландшафтов: длинную береговую линию Балтийского моря с прекрасными песчаными пляжами и дюнами, озерные провинции с более чем 10 000 озерами, низменностями, холмистыми районами и разнообразными

горными хребтами. Наши 23 национальных парка расположены во всех этих регионах.

8 из этих парков также включены в Список всемирного биосферного заповедника ЮНЕСКО. Вы можете наблюдать здесь виды животных и растений, которые вымерли в других частях мира. В Польше насчитывается более 200 спа-курортов в 40 медицинских центрах. Можно выбрать роскошные курорты или небольшие спа-центры, центры, расположенные вблизи крупных городов или посреди природы, вдали от толпы. Польские оздоровительные и курортные центры используют различные виды минеральных вод и грязей, доступные в Польше, для лечения и расслабления в сочетании с использованием современного оборудования. Все более популярными являются также соляные пещеры. В польской земле обильны природные источники, горячие источники, быстрые реки, колодцы и геотермальные воды. Роскошные курорты и небольшие ​​ спа-центры предлагают целый ряд лечебных процедур. Естественные добавки минеральной воды и грязи дают возможность расслабления и омоложения. В широкий спектр лечебных процедур входят аюрведа, травяные

EXPO Astana 2017

ванны, финская сауна и бассейны с различными роскошными удобствами. Планируйте свою поездку в Польшу, чтобы испытать захватывающие достопримечательности ваших экскурсий. Летайте высоко и смотрите панорамные виды представляющие такие активности как виндсерфинг, прыжки с банджи, парапланеризм, каякинг, катание на лыжах, верховую езду и вождение по сельским маршрутам. Живописная красота Мазурских озер составляет 3000 озер. Спокойная и безмятежная земля является местом отдыха для пловцов, любителей круизов и походов, рыбаков и любителей природы. Благодаря большому разнообразию ландшафтов Польша является привлекательным местом для активного туризма. Это мечта для любителей водных видов спорта благодаря длинной линии берегов, тысячам озер и множеству рек и каналов. Это также место для зимних видов спорта. Польша предлагает большое количество велосипедных и треккинговых маршрутов во всех видах местностей, хорошие условия для альпинизма из-за разнообразных типов гор, множество мест предлагающих курсы верховой езды и развлечения для игроков в гольф. Красота не может быть воображена, она может быть испытана и почувствована, когда вам придется раскрыть польское искусство, культуру и наследие. Запланируйте свое пребывание в Польше и посмотрите этот райский уголок на Земле. Времена года в Польше создают благоприятные условия для каждого путешественника. Польша - рай для туристов, интересующихся культурными событиями. Список различных фестивалей, музыкальных конкурсов, театральных мастерских, ярмарок, мероприятий на свежем воздухе бесконечен! Многие из них имеют международный характер и известны во всем мире. Самая большая

концентрация галерей и культурных достопримечательностей находится в Кракове, где богатое культурное наследие сосуществует с современной жизнью и экстравагантным искусством. Вроцлав был выбран в качестве культурной столицы Европы на 2016 год благодаря особенно широкому предложению культурных достопримечательностей. Рестораны, развлечения и покупки - неотъемлемая часть каждой поездки, а Польша - место для каждого из них. На протяжении веков польская кухня была ареной для конкурирующих влияний из Франции и Италии, обогащенной экзотическим вкусом татарской, армянской, литовской, венгерской и еврейской кухни. Выбор ресторанов, а также

клубов и пабов чрезвычайно широк. Польша также является идеальным местом для покупок. В каждом большом польском городе есть несколько огромных и современных торговых центров с сотнями магазинов, многие из которых принадлежат всемирно известным сетям, а также рестораны / пабы / кафе, мультиплексные кинотеатры (где фильмы воспроизводятся в версиях на оригинальном языке, таким образом они приспособлены к потребностям иностранцев). Эти торговые центры открыты 7 дней в неделю до 10 вечера. Каждый год польский торговый центр выигрывает одну из европейских премий для торгового центра. И покупки здесь - выгодная • сделка!

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EXPO Astana 2017

KAZAKHSTAN

A SAFE PORT FOR BUSINESS?

Kazakhstan is becoming the favourite destination for Polish firms interested in doing business in Central Asia. Kazakhstan is chosen as the basis for business development thanks to modern law, preferential conditions and allowances for foreign investors. However, there are many minor legal peculiarities that one should be aware of when deciding to operate on this market.

TATYANA KORYAKINA, Associate at Domański Zakrzewski Palinka sp.k.

“

There is a great deal of interest in doing business in Kazakhstan, though it is important to be aware of numerous restrictions, such as geographical distance, mentality, specific non-tariff procedures to be followed, and competition from other countries. To do business in Kazakhstan, another requirement is patience. We have noted in recent years that, despite the unfavourable geopolitical situation that has impacted on the level of trade, Polish exports are again on the rise. According to Polish data, in JanuaryMay 2017 Polish companies exported goods valued at USD 162.2 million to Kazakhstan, against USD 123.5 million in the same period last year. According to preliminary Polish data, gross Polish FDI in Kazakhstan in 2016 stood at around USD 100 million, indicating the potential for developing economic cooperation”, said Tomasz Zapalski, First Secretary, Polish Embassy – Department for the Promotion of Trade and Investment in Almaty.

LEGAL ASPECTS OF STARTING A BUSINESS IN KAZAKHSTAN Foreign investors may conduct business activity in various organizational forms. The most common form is establishing a Kazakh subsidiary, usually in the form of a limited liability company (ТОО – Товарищество с ограниченной ответственностью). A Kazakh ТОО company operates on a similar basis as a Polish sp. z o.o.

38 polish market

company – the shareholders are generally not liable for the company’s obligations.

Another way to start a business in Kazakhstan is to acquire shares in an existing company or to establish a branch or representative office. Unlike that of companies and branches, the nature of a representative office is limited.

A representative office may represent the interests of the founding entity but cannot conduct business activity in its own name.

Apart from strictly business-related aspects, a decision on the form of business should also take into account legal and tax aspects, which in many instances are the decisive factor.

Another less significant issue is whether the start of our business in Kazakhstan requires any permits or licenses from local authorities. Depending on the type of business, Kazakh law provides for the requirement to: (a) obtain a license; (b) obtain a permit; (c) notify competent authorities of the start and end of business.

For example, construction activity requires a license. This license may only be issued to a Kazakh company or a branch of a foreign company in Kazakhstan. In practice this means that the conduct of construction activity in Kazakhstan requires establishment of a branch or a company in Kazakhstan, or acquisition of an existing company that already has a license.

Furthermore, in the case of participation in public tenders in Kazakhstan, conducting business in the form of a local company may be important since, currently only local

companies or foreign companies acting in a consortium with a local company may participate in tenders.

Conducting business on foreign markets is difficult without contacts with local partners. In order to secure his interests, an entrepreneur should be familiar with the possibilities of verifying information about a potential business partner, especially in the context of bankruptcy or liquidation.

Nowadays more and more additional investor-friendly conditions and facilities are created for foreign entities. The Enterprise Code adopted recently is also of key importance. It protects the investors’ rights, e.g. in the case of nationalization. An Investment Attorney has also been appointed to settle disputes involving foreign investors.

One of the key arguments for establishing or developing business in Kazakhstan is that, when entering the Kazakh market, a foreign investor may operate not only locally but gains access to the entire Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which includes Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. The EEU ensures free flow of capital, labour, goods and services. The EEU member state markets (183.5 million people) create great opportunities in many areas for new products, services or technologies offered by Polish companies.

The success of a foreign expansion is determined by several factors but the key one is a well thought-out business strategy and experienced advisors.

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EXPO Astana 2017

POLPHARMA

IS INVESTING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY IN KAZAKHSTAN

ПОЛЬФАРМА

ИНВЕСТИРУЕТ В РАЗВИТИЕ ФАРМАЦЕВТИЧЕСКОЙ ПРОМЫШЛЕННОСТИ В КАЗАХСТАНЕ

P

olpharma is the leader of the pharmaceutical market in Poland and the largest Polish investor in Kazakhstan. Since 2011, the Polpharma Group includes SANTO company with its production facility in Shymkent, which has been present on the market for 135 years and is the largest local producer of medicines in Kazakhstan.

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Polpharma, Jerzy Starak, is also a member of the Foreign Investors’ Council chaired by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan in three Polish regions.

“Kazakhstan is one of major directions of the Polpharma Group foreign investments and a very prospective market with a high growth potential. I am convinced than soon it can become a leader of Central Asia in respect of production and exports of advanced pharmaceutical products. Having modern production capacity in this country facilitates our further development in the region and allows us to take advantage of the opportunities connected with the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union” – states Jerzy Starak.

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Polpharma has made a significant contribution to the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Kazakhstan. It carries out its own investment programme in the Shymkent plant, aimed at development of innovative manufacturing technologies, especially in the area of highly advanced sterile pharmaceutical products. The company has invested in the modernisation of manufacturing base in line with the European standards of Good Manufacturing Practice. By the end of 2016 the value of the investment in the construction of new manufacturing sites and modernisation of already existing ones in the Shymkent plant was USD 70 million, while the forecast value of the entire investment programme, depending on the market development, will exceed USD 100 million.

So far a new department has been built for the production of ampoules and infusion fluids, as well as 2 production lines in a new antibiotic powder production department, a new boiler room, roads, a new research and development laboratory. Quality control laboratory and two warehouses have been modernised. SANTO company is now the most modern sterile drugs manufacturing plant in the entire Central Asia

region. It has a manufacturing capacity of 1.2 billion tablets and capsules, 300 million ampoules, 48 million antibiotic vials, 24 million syrup bottles, 6 million sachets and vials of infusion fluids annually. The company has 4 Good Manufacturing (GMP) certificates confirming the highest standards of sterile production in the plant. In 2016 it received the Presidential Award of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Altyn Sapa” in the “Best Innovative Project” category.

EXPO Astana 2017 The aim of the Polpharma’s investment in Kazakhstan is not only to implement modern technologies and the highest manufacturing standards, but also to develop the local industry by sharing knowledge and educating staff. The academic programme of SANTO is the main education programme launched in 2013, carried out in partnership with the major academic centres in Kazakhstan. The basic objective of the programme is to prepare qualified employees for the pharmaceutical industry and to elevate the quality of education of scientific workers and students of leading universities. The Programme partners are the Astana Medical University, the Centre of Life Sciences of the Nazarbayev University, South-Kazakhstan State Pharmaceutical Academy and Nazarbayev Intellectual School of Chemistry and Biology in Shymkent.

П

ольфарма – лидер фармацевтического рынка в Польше и крупнейший польский инвестор в Казахстане. С 2011 года в состав Группы Польфарма входит фирма SANTO с производственным заводом в Шымкенте, которая действует на рынке уже 135 лет и является крупнейшим местным производителем лекарственных средств в стране. Председатель Наблюдательного совета Польфармы, Ежи Старак, является также членом Совета инвесторов при Президенте Казахстана и Почетным консулом Казахстана в трех польских областях.

- Казахстан – это один из важнейших инвестиционных направлений Группы Польфарма и чрезвычайно перспективный рынок с высоким потенциалом развития. Я уверен, что вскоре он может стать лидером Центральной Азии в области производства и экспорта продвинутых фармацевтических препаратов. То, что мы располагаем современной производственной мощностью в этой стране, дает нам возможность дальнейшего развития в регионе и использования шансов, связанных с учреждением Евразийского экономического союза – подчеркивает Ежи Старак. Польфарма вносит значительную долю в развитие фармацевтической промышленности в Казахстане. Компания осуществляет инвестиционную программу на заводе в Шымкенте, целью которой является развитие инновационных технологий производства, особенно в области высоко продвинутых стерильных лекарственных средств. Фирма инвестировала в модернизацию производственной базы на основании европейских стандартов Надлежащей производственной практики. К концу 2016 года стоимость инвестиции в строение новых и модернизацию существующих производственных объектов завода в Шымкенте составила 70 млн долларов, а планируемая стоимость всей

Cooperation with the universities covers not only presenting drugs production and development conditions in the SANTO plant to students and scientific workers, but also scientific trips to Polpharma laboratories in Poland.

The most talented young scientists can receive scientific grants for their research projects and participate in traineeships programmes organised by the company. Additionally, in 2015, as a part of so-called dual education, a special class was created in the Shymkent plant, where about 15 students learn and gain practical experience. The academic programme in Kazakhstan will certainly be developed further. It will enable Polpharma Group and SANTO company to make long-term contribution in broadening knowledge and introducing innovations in Kazakhstan pharmaceutical in• dustry.

инвестиционной программы, в зависимости от развития рынка, превысит 100 млн долларов США. До сих пор на заводе в Шымкенте были созданы новый отдел производства ампул и растворов для инфузий, 2 линии в новом отделе по рассыпке порошков антибиотиков, новая котельная, дороги, новая лаборатория исследований и развития, а также были модернизированы лаборатория контроля качества и два склада. Фирма SANTO сейчас самый современный завод по производству стерильных лекарственных средств во всем регионе Центральной Азии. Ее производственная мощность составляет 1,2 млрд таблеток и капсул, 300 млн ампул, 48 млн флаконов антибиотиков, 24 млн флаконов сиропов, 6 млн пакетов и флаконов инфузионных растворов в год. Фирма имеет 4 сертификата Надлежащей производственной практики (GMP), подтверждающих самые высокие стандарты стерильного производства на заводе. В 2016 году стала лауреатом премии Президента Республики Казахстан «Алтын Сапа» в номинации «Лучший инновационный проект». Инвестиция Польфармы направлена не только на внедрение современных технологий и самых высоких стандартов производства, но также на развитие местной промышленности путем обмена знаниями и обучения персонала. Академическая программа SANTO – это главный образовательный проект, начатый в 2013 году, осуществляемый в рамках партнерства с важнейшими академическими центрами в Казахстане. Основная идея программы – подготовка высококвалифицированных работников фармацевтической промышленности и повышение качества образования научных сотрудников и студентов ведущих вузов. Партнеры Программы – Медицинский Университет Астана, Центр

Наук о жизни Назарбаев Университета, Южно-Казахстанская Государственная Фармацевтическая Академия и Назарбаев Интеллектуальная Школа химико-биологического направления в городе Шымкент. Сотрудничество с вузами включает не только ознакомление студентов и научного персонала с современными условиями производства и развития лекарственных средств на заводе SANTO в Казахстане, но также научные командировки в лаборатории Польфармы в Польше. Самые талантливые молодые ученые могут получить научные гранты для осуществления своих исследовательских проектов и принять участие в организуемых фирмой стажировках. Дополнительно в 2015 году на заводе в Шымкенте, в рамках так называемого дуального образования был создан класс, в котором учится и получает практический опыт около 15 учеников. Академическая программа в Казахстане несомненно будет развиваться дальше. Благодаря ней Группа Польфарма и фирма SANTO могут в долгосрочной перспективе способствовать расширению знаний и росту инноваций фармацевтической промышленности в Казахстане.

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EXPO Astana 2017

POTENTIAL WHICH HAS TO BE TAPPED BOŻENA LUBLIŃSKA-KASPRZAK, President of BRAD Management Consulting, BCC expert for enterprise and innovation

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oland and Kazakhstan, although they are very important economic partners, are not fully exploiting their potential for cooperation.

A great chance for institutional, trade and investment cooperation is offered by Kazakhstan’s development strategy until 2050.

The Kazakh economy – which until recently was focused on extracting and exporting raw materials, and on agriculture, which is the second largest sector of the economy after oil and gas extraction – is to be widely diversified to keep pace with the fourth industrial revolution. The strategy strongly emphasizes the importance of human capital, preparing highly qualified labour for the mining, processing, high-tech and services sectors, and improving the climate and environment for business.

The strategy and Kazakh government officials have stressed the need to strengthen the sector of small and medium enterprises (SME).

The contribution of small and medium businesses to GDP generation is to rise from the present 20% to 40% in 2030 and 50% in 2050.

Poland, Polish educational and scientific institutions, central and local government bodies

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and, above all, Polish business may be an example of success in transforming and developing these three areas of key importance for Kazakhstan: agriculture, agri-food processing and the SME sector. Public-funded programmes for the development of human resources for the economy were carried out in Poland for many years. The Polish government has invested a lot in modern technologies and infrastructure in the agricultural and food-processing sector, and in setting these enterprises on track to becoming modern. A strength of the Polish economy is its SME sector. It generates 50% of GDP, which is Kazakhstan’s target.

As a result, the Kazakh public administration and business are looking at Poland and the Polish economy with great interest. At the stage of its technological and institutional development, Kazakhstan needs outside support.

While working for many years in the public administration sector, I had an opportunity to initiate and coordinate cooperation and take part, as an expert, in international advisory projects and institutional cooperation, including in Kazakhstan. Such advisory projects conducted for local public administration and business often open opportunities and

blaze a trail for Polish firms, especially those planning long-term presence on the market.

This is why such activities should be supported and continued.

Kazakhstan may be a springboard for Polish firms into other markets of the Eurasian Economic Union. Products made by Polish firms in Kazakhstan could be exported to these countries. Kazakhstan wants to replace imports with goods produced at home. It is an opportunity for our food processors and manufacturers of agricultural machines. The experience of Polish businesses shows that the best way to enter the local market is partnering with a Kazakh firm. It seems that cooperation between clusters is underestimated in this respect. This is especially true in the case of small and medium businesses, for which conquering new markets singlehandedly is always a great financial and organizational effort. Cooperation between clusters, as a form of establishing trade and technology transfer relations, may be especially effective in coming years considering public support for clusters and their expansion available in Poland, especially key clusters, and activities supporting the development of clusters in Kazakhstan.

•

Инновационные развязывания проблем отходов с помощью проверенных экологических технологических решений

СЕРНОЕ ВЯЖУЩЕЕ SULSTAR® позволяют на превращения отходной серы на высокого качества вяжущее для производства бит битумов, химически и водостойких материалов для дорожного, железнодорожного и гидротехнического строительства Преимущества применения технологии Sulstar®: • получение более дешевых сероасфальтобетонов с гораздо лучшими эксплуатационными параметрами, • возможность превращения промышленных отходов в безопасные, п полезные продукты и получение доходов от их продажи, • устранение затрат и технических проблем складирования отходов, • освобождение территорий зарезервированных под свалки отходов, • снижение стоимости серного вяжущего, • получение высокой стойкости и срока службы п изделий в агрессивной среде, • 100% рециклинг изделий, • применение изделий уже после 24 часов с момента изготовления

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PPUH MARBET WIL Sp. z o.o.

Chochołowska 28 str, 43-346 Bielsko-Biała tel. +48 (33) 812-71-00, fax: +48 (33) 812-71-03 Производство: Towarowa 9 str., 44-100 Gliwice, tel. +48 (32) 338-19-40 do 49, fax: +48 (32) 270-39-96

www.marbetwil.pl info@marbetwil.pl

www.greenevo.gov.p

EXPO Astana 2017

MODERN AND ENVIRONMENTFRIENDLY BUSES IN WARSAW НА ЭЛЕКТРИЧЕСТВО И ГАЗ СОВРЕМЕННО И ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКИ ПО УЛИЦАМ ВАРШАВЫ

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arsaw’s municipal bus company (MZA) is going to replace nearly 10% of its total fleet this year. Among the new vehicles will be 10 electric buses. The number of these most environment-friendly vehicles present in the streets of Warsaw will be growing every year to reach as many as 160 in 2020, more than in any other Polish city.

MZA is the largest municipal transport company in Poland and one of the largest in Europe. The company has a fleet of 1,400 vehicles based in four bus depots. Every day 1,220 buses are in service in the streets of Warsaw.

The size of the fleet goes hand in hand with its modernity. For several years the company has carried out an ambitious investment programme. Back in 2006, most of the vehicles in the fleet were high-floor and obsolete buses. The number of new buses purchased in that period was much below what was needed. Since that time MZA has bought more than 1,000 brand-new low-floor buses with increasingly advanced on-board equipment, starting with video surveillance to air conditioning, fire protection systems, electronic information boards outside and inside

44 polish market

the bus, systems for counting passengers in the vehicles and ticket machines. At present, the standard of the MZA fleet is higher than that of bus fleets in many Western European countries. The average age of the MZA buses has dropped to slightly over six years, with a steady downward trend.

In 2017, the company is going to continue its ambitious investment programme. MZA will buy 45 articulated buses and 35 extralarge buses with a length of 12 metres. Each vehicle will be powered by engines meeting the most rigorous cleanliness standards. The vehicles will be delivered from the Mercedes plant in Istanbul by the end of the year. MZA will also buy 10 electric buses with a length of 12 metres. The whole investment project will be carried out in the form of a six-year lease.

The Woronicza depot will receive the latest model of the fourth-generation Solaris Urbino, a Polish flagship export. It will be put into service in spring 2018. In autumn, the depot will also receive 10 electric buses under a contract signed last year. The vehicles will be delivered from the manufacturing site of the Ursus company in the city of Lublin. Ursus is supposed to become a leader of the Polish electric mobility programme.

Electric and low-emission vehicles are the future of MZA and the apple of the eye of the Management Board. For several years the company has been a pioneer of “green” technologies. MZA is open to testing low-emission or zero-emission buses and was among the first companies in Poland to purchase four hybrid buses. The year 2015 brought further technological innovations to the fleet: 35 buses powered by LNG (as the second city in Europe) and 10 electric buses. This is coupled with energy-efficient solutions designed to improve the company’s financial results and protect the natural environment: LED lighting installed in all the depots, using the roof of the Woronicza depot as a solar farm, with several hundred photovoltaic panels, plus photovoltaic panels installed on nearly 300 vehicles. The panels on buses will reduce fuel consumption by several per cent. Additionally, the electricity produced by them will be sufficient to power the air-condition and electronic information systems.

The coming years will bring even bigger changes to MZA. By 2020 the company’s depots will be home to as many as 160 electric vehicles, of which 130 will be articulated buses purchased thanks to funding from the

EXPO Astana 2017 European Union. Most of them will be based in the modernized Redutowa depot. This ultramodern depot will have underground parking for buses, 100 charging stations for electric vehicles and energy-saving heat pumps.

But the most important thing is that it is designed so as not to be a nuisance to the local residents. A large area of greenery at the site is one of the features used to enable achieving this goal.

MZA’s environment-friendly projects will be complemented by a network of electric vehicle charging stations outside the depots.

They will make it possible to recharge the batteries of the buses during their stays at terminuses. Modern technologies enable charging vehicle batteries in public places with no hazard to the passers-by. The buses are equipped with pantographs which protrude from the roof of the vehicle and draw electricity from a device suspended over the road. As many as 19 devices of this kind will be installed in Warsaw at the terminuses of buses plying Krakowskie Przedmieście and Nowy Świat Streets. Having charged its batteries for 20 minutes, an electric bus will be able to cover a distance of 20 up to 40 kilometres.

Thanks to these investment projects it will be possible to fulfil the promise of the municipal authorities to turn the Royal Route (Krakowskie Przedmieście and Nowy Świat Streets) into a place free from transport emissions and noise.

The company is aware that “green” buses and depots is not all that can be done to protect Warsaw’s natural environment. This is why MZA is committed to public campaigns promoting environmental awareness. One of the recent ones is the campaign carried out under the slogan “With an Eco-Bus through Green Warsaw.” As part of this campaign, practical measures are taken involving planting at the depots species of plants absorbing harmful dust. The plants are selected by employees of the Botanical Garden of the Polish Academy of Sciences. There are also campaigns on buses promoting nature reserves in Warsaw and birds living in the city.

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очти 10 процентов своего флота поменяет в этом году Муниципальное Автобусное Управление. Среди новых т р а нс пор т н ы х с р е дс т в появятся, м.п. 10 электробусов. Таких наиболее экологически чистых транспортных средств с каждым годом будет все больше - к 2020 году на столичных улицах будет их даже 160 - больше всего в Польше. Муниципальное Автобусное Управление является крупнейшей компанией городского транспорта в Польше и одним из крупнейших в Европе. Флот насчитывает почти 1400

автобусов приписанных к четырем депо, 1220 из них каждый день выезжает на улицы Варшавы. Размах идет в ногу с современностью. Уже несколько лет компания ведет амбициозную инвестиционную программу. Еще в 2006 году большая часть автобусов была высокопольная и устаревшая, а покупки велись значительно ниже потребностей. С того времени приобретено более тысячи фабрично новых низкопольных автобусов, обогащенных все более продвинутыми элементами оборудования, начиная с систем видеонаблюдения, кондиционирования воздуха, систем противопожарной защиты, внутренней и внешней электронной информации, устройства для подсчета пассажиров в автобусе, по билетоматы. На данный момент, стандарт автобусов MАУ во многих случаях уже превышает многие города Западной Европы, а средний возраст флота упал до чуть более шести лет (с постоянным нисходящим трендом). В 2017 году компания будет продолжать свою амбициозную инвестиционную программу. Муниципальное Автобусное Управление купит 45 сочлененных автобусов, а также 35 автобусов класса макси длиной 12 метров. Все они будут оснащены двигателями, которые отвечают самым строгим стандартам чистоты. Эти автобусы до конца года приедут из завода Mercedes в Стамбуле. Приобретение новы х а втобусов пополнится след у ющими десятью электробусами длиной 12 метров. Целая инвестиция будет реализована в виде лизинга на шесть лет. В депо «Woronicza» попадет новейшая модель польского экспортного хита - четвертое поколение Solaris Urbino. Жители Варшавы поедут ними весной 2018 года. Осенью депо «Woronicza» также будет оснащено 10 электрическими автобусами, которые являются результатом соглашения, подписанного в прошлом году. Новые машины это продукты компании, которая может стать лидером польской электромобильности люблинского Ursus. Электрические и низкоуглеродистые автобусы – это будущее Муниципального Автобусного Управления и зрачок в глазу его Правления. Уже несколько лет компания является предшественником последующих «зеленых» технологии. Компания открыта на тестирование автобусов, оборудованных в двигатели с низко или нулевым уровнем выбросов, одна из первых в Польше решила приобрести четыре гибридные автобусы и 2015 год принес в парк дальнейшие технические новшества - 35 автобусов на сжиженный природый газ СПГ (как второй город в Европе) и 10 электрических автобусов. Надо добавить также энергоэффективные решения для повышения экономической эффективности, од новременно помог а я за щ ищат ь

окружающую среду - светодиодное освещение на территории всех депо, использование кровли депо «Woronicza» как солнечной фермы (несколько сотен солнечных батарей), и, наконец, фотоэлектрические панели установленные на почти 300 автобусах (что экономит несколько процентов потребления топлива, их энергии достаточно для питания кондиционирования воздуха или электронной информации). Ближайшие годы принесут еще большие изменения в пейзаже Муниципального Автобусного Управления. К 2020 году в базах Компании будет находиться 160 электрических автобусов. 130 из них, в сочлененным варианте, будут приобретены с помощью Европейского Союза. Большинство из них будет базироваться в восстановленном отделении на ул. Redutowa. В этом ультра-современным объекте будет подземный паркинг для автобусов, сто станций для зарядки электроавтобусов и энергосберегающие тепловые насосы. Прежде всего, однако, он будет построен таким образом, чтобы не мешать местным жителям. Это произдет за счет, в частности, большой площади зеленых насаждений на его территории. Экологические инвестиции дополнит сеть уличных зарядных устройств, что позволит дополнить батарею во время их стоянок на кольце. Использование современных технологий позволяет заряжать в общественных местах, полностью безопасно для пешеходов. Автобусы оборудованы в специальные токоприемники, которые выдвигаются из крыши машины и потребляют ток из устройства висящего над дорогой. В Варшаве построится аж 19 устройств этого типа – на петлях автобусов курсирующих по Краковском Предместью и Новом Свете.

20-минутная зарядка хватит, чтобы проехать от 20 до даже 40 км. Благодаря этим инвестициям можно будет выполнить обещание городских властей создания из Королевского Тракта места, где нет выхлопных газов и шума, происходящих от транспорта. Компания понимает, что «зеленые» автобусы и депо, это далеко не все, что можно сделать для защиты окружающей среды в Варшаве. Отсюда приверженность к экологическим общественным кампаниям, таким как новейшая акция «Экоавтобусом по зеленой Варшаве». В ее рамках предпринимаются такие практические действия, как насаждение в депо растений, которые поглощают вредную мелкую пыль (выбор растений делают работники Ботаническогo Сада Польской Академии Наук), а также кампании в автобусах продвигающие варшавские заповедники и птиц живущих в столице.

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EXPO Astana 2017

MARCIN CHLUDZIŃSKI, President of the Management Board, Industrial Development Agency S.A. (ARP), talks to "Polish Market".

AN INDIVIDUAL

APPROACH TO EACH PROJECT

What is the current role of ARP in the context of the Responsible Development Strategy? Has it changed significantly?

Supporting the development of Polish enterprises continues to be our priority. This is why ARP offers financial instruments, and also provides non-material assistance in the form of access to investment areas or substantive support. We also care for increasing the competitiveness of Polish industry and for developing innovative projects, which are a particularly crucial element in the governmental Responsible Development Strategy.

The positive changes include building synergy both within the ARP corporate group and in collaboration with companies and institutions with a similar field of activity. The objective is to make the best possible use of PM

46 polish market

support instruments for entrepreneurs. Comprehensive operations being carried out with such entities as PFR, PARP, PAIH, KUKE and BGK are now more effective, which is apparent in many development projects, notably in the restructuring of the Przewozy Regionalne rail operator. We are currently placing special emphasis on the active management of a portfolio of companies. We wish to show that management by a state agency is effective. Although, due to years of backlog, this is not an easy process, there are many examples showing that it is possible. Our portfolio of companies includes Warszawskie Zakłady Mechaniczne – a profitable exporter specialising in manufacturing injectors for modern engines. The company, being a state-owned enterprise, has achieved success. The same

applies to Rafamet, a producer of machine tools in which we hold a majority stake. One of the most recent examples is the Poznańbased FPS – Cegielski, which in July 2017 won a contract for upgrading 60 PKP Intercity wagons. Thanks to this a company which not so long ago was experiencing difficulties will receive a contract worth almost PLN300 million.

You provide support for a variety of industries, like for example the aerospace, computer gaming and mining sectors.

What do these sectors have in common and what do you have to offer to all these various entities?

What sets us apart is our case-by-case approach to each project. We often spot PM

EXPO Astana 2017

development opportunities where many institutions responsible for funding seem to overlook them. We engage experienced analysts who are able to think outside the box.

When it comes to sectors in which we invest, it all depends on the particular situation. On the one hand, we support large enterprises, which are the pillars of industry, and on the other we remember about the SME sector, which is one of the drivers of the Polish economy. We primarily offer a broad range of financial services, including providing start-up loans, funding promising investment projects, and assisting in the restructuring process. As far as supporting innovation and smaller companies is concerned, as well as financial instruments, it is worth mentioning, for example, the vigorously developing ARP Games accelerator for video games, and the Academy of Innovation, providing training on innovation for executive staff. The 2nd edition of the Academy of Innovation focuses on Blockchain and Bitcoin – systems which are bound to soon revolutionise international markets. In the aerospace technology sector we support staff development and science-business cooperation.

Our other ventures have included the organisation of the Satellite Forum and investing our capital in innovative enterprises such as Creotech Instruments, which is currently the fastest-developing aerospace company in Poland. But innovation has many names and equally well applies to industries such as mining. Our branch in Katowice leads the Innovative Coal Forum, with an emphasis on the development of new, green technologies, which can find applications in other sectors, such as the chemical industry.

One of the ideas promoted by the Ministry of Economic Development is supporting Polish startups. ARP runs the Technology Transfer Platform, which seems to fit perfectly into this trend. How do you assess its operations, and can you quote any spectacular results?

The principle of the Technology Transfer Platform links technology providers and recipients. Registered users of the portal can exchange innovation resources and needs. It is also possible to browse databases of technologies and experts. It is worth emphasising that registration and access to the TTP is free of charge. Our Platform truly contributes to promoting startups, which can benefit from innovative resources and support from experts, thanks to which they are able to reach a higher level. One of the ways of using the TTP is our project named ARP Innovation Pitch, which is a workshop of innovative ideas. During successive editions, registered technology providers receive invitations to participate in workshops. ARP Innovation Pitch consists of regular meetings which feature presentations of innovative technological solutions tailored to the needs of large partners. So far, we have organised 10 editions of the project, with the participation of such companies as Ursus, PGNiG and Przedsiębiorstwo Państwowe “Porty Lotnicze”.

The workshops are an opportunity to implement interesting innovative projects and launch cooperation between workshop participants.

PM

PM

You continue to manage two of the fourteen Polish Special Economic Zones. In the first half of 2017 the zones in the ARP portfolio broke another record. Agreements

WE PRIMARILY OFFER A BROAD RANGE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES, INCLUDING PROVIDING START-UP LOANS, FUNDING PROMISING INVESTMENT PROJECTS, AND ASSISTING IN THE RESTRUCTURING PROCESS.

were signed for projects worth almost PLN 1 billion.

What makes SEZs continue to enjoy such popularity?

It is a common belief that entrepreneurs are attracted to SEZs by tax exemptions. This is, of course, a very important aspect of the zones’ operations, which contributes to economic development, but there are more benefits. ARP also provides investment areas with convenient transport connections and an extensive utility infrastructure. Furthermore, ARP runs a specially prepared financial-support programme, encompassing loans for investing in business development, supporting financial liquidity, supplementing working capital, funding contracts and orders, and funding startups in SEZs. The effectiveness of our activities in the zones can be evidenced by numbers. Since the beginning of the activities of the SEZs we have issued almost 750 permits, as a result of which PLN18.5 billion has been invested, and more than 60 thousand jobs have been created.

Another important aspect of the zones’ activities is bridging the gaps in the development of particular Polish regions.

Therefore, it is possible to state that the assumptions of SEZs relate to those of the Central Industrial Region, which this year is celebrating its 80th anniversary. This ambitious project is definitely worth continuing and supporting, because it brings tangible benefits to Polish society.

A popular belief is that SEZs are there mainly to attract foreign capital to Poland. Is this true? Do Polish entrepreneurs also use the opportunities provided by the zones?

Let me just quote some data: since the launching of the zones ARP S.A. has issued almost 750 permits for running business activities, of which three quarters have been to Polish companies. This seems more than enough to prove that Polish entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the opportunities provided by SEZs. Foreign capital is also very important, and cooperation with entities from abroad is going really well. The published indicators evidently show that our economy is developing intensively, also due to cooperation between domestic and foreign enterprises. In SEZs there is a place for everyone who is willing to invest • in Poland and obtain real benefits.

PM

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EXPO Astana 2017

KAZAKHSTAN A DEMANDING BUT PROMISING MARKET ANDRZEJ KOZŁOWSKI, Vice-President of the Polish Cluster of Construction Exporters, talks to “Polish Market”.

The Cluster conducts activities designed to help Polish construction firms become established on the Kazakh market. One of such projects will be a panel discussion during the Economic Forum in Krynica.

What will it be about?

The goal of our panel discussion at the Economic Forum in Krynica is to familiarize the Kazakh construction sector with the potential of our firms, especially the know-how and organizational skills they gained over the past several decades, which was possible thanks to very intensive investment activity. We would also like to show our openness to broad cooperation in various organizational forms.

One should remember, however, that Kazakhstan is quite a difficult market for the construction sector. There are several barriers, very important from our point of view, on this market. The first one is that Kazakhstan has a licence system as do most of the countries of the former Soviet Union. As a result, if a foreign company wants to enter the Kazakh market but has not established a business of its own in the country it will be excluded from tenders for projects financed by the state. Another barrier is that Kazakhstan favours companies ready to enter the market with their equity. The reason is Kazakhstan’s unpleasant experience of having its currency, the tenge, devalued against convertible currencies in the past several years. Support in the form of long-term and short-term loans is not attractive for Kazakhstan because the risk taken by construction firms in the period of devaluation rebounded on the market and impacted on the condition of some of the firms. As a result, it is necessary to look for solutions encouraging Polish firms to develop on the market not in an organic way but by becoming partners for existing Kazakh firms.

PM

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The decision to invest in Kazakhstan is very difficult for Polish companies. There is a long distance from Poland to Kazakhstan.

Secondly, Polish firms, especially smaller ones, are oriented mainly at the Western market and Scandinavia where they operate mainly as subcontractors. Large firms have a lot of work in Poland and problems resulting from labour shortages. They do not show much enthusiasm for building their own organizational structures outside Poland.

Should Polish firms look for a niche where they have a chance to become established?

Polish firms stand no chance on the residential building market, which is very hermetic. Developers on this market usually carry out investment projects by themselves.

However, the industrial building market is more open.

PM

So what are the advantages of the Kazakh market?

First of all, the enormous amount of construction work which needs to be done in Kazakhstan. It is a huge country, which is still a bit technologically backward, but very much open to the development of infrastructure and industry. Structures and buildings associated with these segments of the market are either already under construction or will be so in coming months or years. If Polish firms want to enter this market they have to consider two options. One of them is establishing a joint venture with a company already present on the market. The second one is joining a public-private partnership project. If the company has capital and is efficient enough in financial and organizational terms then, given the existing trend in Kazakhstan which strongly favours this form of PM

investment, it has a chance to become established on the market.

Are companies which are members of the Cluster already present on the Kazakh market, or are they still trying to enter it?

We are making efforts but, as I said, we have not yet achieved much success. In March, we paid a visit to Kazakhstan to get familiar with the market and assess opportunities for us to become involved in specific projects. As a result of the visit, two projects are now at the feasibility-study stage. One is associated with the renewable energy sector, or photovoltaics to be exact, and the other with steel structures for the oil industry. However, I cannot promise that any of them will come off. I believe they will.

We have asked an official of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction to talk during the panel discussion about what Poland does on a macro scale in the area of pro-environmental investment projects and about our plans for the near future. We would like the local government officials who have accepted our invitation to take part in the panel discussion to speak about achievements of their cities and regions in carrying out investment projects and about the influence of proenvironmental projects on the regions’ and cities’ development.

We hope that this presentation and panel discussion will enable the Kazakh government officials and officials representing Kazakhstan’s large urban centres taking part in the discussion to notice a potential for cooperation and for benefiting from the vast experience which Polish construction companies and local governments can offer as regards technological solutions and the organization of investment processes.

• PM

Finance

THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION The Fourth Industrial Revolution may lead to a giant leap in productivity and help Polish companies to climb up value chains in the manufacturing sector.

On the other hand, the lack of action in terms of the digital transformation carries many risks, including even the marginalisation of the Polish economy.

In the general interest is therefore to prepare for the upcoming changes and build an adequate institutional and technical environment that would comprehensively support the industrial transformation.

WHY SHOULD WE ACT AND WHY SHOULD IT BE NOW

The inaction may deepen the existing gap in productivity between Polish industrial companies and their foreign competitors and what is more, may cause the exclusion of Polish companies out of the global supply chains. Moreover, the existing comparative advantages of Poland based on a low-cost labour are in decline because of the negative demographic trends. At the same time, automation and robotisation will eliminate a great part of a low-skill work force out of the market and in turn boost the demand for well-qualified employees. To be prepared for these changes we need to design and launch appropriate measures.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

First of all, the industrial companies in Poland need to discern what chances and risks are carried by new technologies. The market needs to be aware of the upcoming changes and how the companies may profit out of them. Consequently, it is important to build awareness among entrepreneurs and in this way develop the demand for the 4.0 solutions.

On the other hand, in Poland such solutions have been offered mostly by multinationals, although there are numerous domestic producers of technologies that sell separate 4.0 solutions which need to be integrated to generate the new value. There is therefore a need to support development of competencies in the field of integration and application of solutions.

MULTI-SIDED SUPPORT

As the transformation to Industry 4.0 highly depends on the access to necessary competencies in such fields as manufacturing, automation

50  polish market 

ANDRZEJ SOLDATY, an independent expert, founder of The Initiative for Polish Industry 4.0

and IT, it is important that the faculty programmes in engineering and computer science as well as vocational education programmes are regularly updated and adapted to the dynamically changing labour market requirements.

It is also necessary to develop the appropriate infrastructure network for data sharing. Fast and symmetric internet connection is a key resource for the development of the Internet of Things. Another serious concern relates to the anxiety about data security. Industrial data sharing should be safeguarded by legal regulation as well as the wide availability of adequate technical solutions.

Needless to say, the transformation to Industry 4.0 involves substantial investment, which in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises can be a serious development barrier. Accelerating business change requires the design of appropriate business support instruments.

Finally, the transformation to the level defined as Industry 4.0 requires an appropriate legal and institutional framework. An important aspect of institutional support for the industrial transformation in Poland are the efforts concentrated on: the development of security solutions, new regulations related to labour market, intellectual property rights in industry and data ownership. It is also necessary to create conditions for testing, developing and implementing standards.

WHAT NEXT

Given an urgent need for action, a group of experts coming from both business and academia has launched a bottom-up Initiative for Polish Industry 4.0 which has recently become a part of the team established by the Ministry of Economic Development. Together we are working on the project aiming to build the Platform of the Industry of the Future, an organisation that would comprehensively support the Polish transformation. •

Industry

A REVOLUTION BEFORE OUR EYES – ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE DEVELOPED

BY POLES AUTONOMOUSLY MANAGES PRODUCTION

In Poland there are enterprises in which the entire production is managed by smart systems supported by artificial intelligence algorithms. The solutions being developed by Polish experts are revolutionising the approach to production management, and are taking the plants using them to a higher organisational level, unattainable with other management methods. The IPOsystem is a viable response to the Industry 4.0 concept.

T

he IPOsystem is the first universal Smart Factory system in the world which directly and independently manages all types of production.

This means that the IPOsystem autonomously, i.e. without planners or supervisors (sic!), decides in shop floors who, when and where performs the successive production stages.

THE IPOSYSTEM AUTONOMOUSLY MANAGES THE WORK OF PEOPLE AND MACHINES

“The system independently manages the operations of all workers and machines on an ongoing basis. The IPOsystem reacts in real time to all events and changes in the situation in the shop floor and resources. In the case of any departures from the assumed standards, the system makes adjustments and optimisations within seconds,” emphasised Bartłomiej Skowron, co-owner and Director of the IT and Product Development Division of UIBS Teamwork, the company which created the solution.

Each worker, after logging on to the system, is immediately assigned the optimum task for a given moment. In addition, the system automatically saves information on the current conditions of all work performed in shop floors. This is a source of valuable data for the company's managers, which has helped to streamline numerous processes in over a dozen plants in Poland. The system also monitors the duration of ongoing works and informs production supervisors of any cases of exceeded standard working hours or substandard efficiency, or quality, reporting any deficiencies or problems in real time.

THE SMART SYSTEM SIMPLIFIES THE OVERALL COMPANY MANAGEMENT

In all companies where the IPOsystem has been implemented, company management has changed significantly. Managers no longer need to take complicated planning decisions or supervise shop floor workers. Company management has become simpler, and the IPOsystem has optimised the operations of the entire organisation, from direct production to internal transport, to warehouses, supplies and quality control. Up-to-date information on the lead times for all orders is valuable for sales departments, and the managers can focus on strategic planning and increasing the efficiency of company operations.

A PRODUCTIVITY RISE OF UP TO 30%

“The IPOsystem has provided an at least 1530% increase in efficiency for all types of production in the companies using it as early as a year after launching the system, and a substantial reduction in production and work-inprogress management costs,” said Krzysztof Fiegler, co-owner and Commercial Director of UIBS Teamwork.

So far, the system has been implemented by companies dealing with discrete manufacturing and mixed, and mass production.

Each company has improved their efficiency, increased their profitability, reduced their delivery times and increased their market shares. They have reached operational levels previously unattainable for them. Currently, the IPOsystem is being used for managing the production of 16 Polish enterprises, and is being implemented in a further 12 companies.

Polish IT specialists have again developed

a solution which is a world-scale innovation.

Soon, many plants in Poland will be Smart.

WHAT DO YOUR CLIENTS THINK OF THE IPOSYSTEM?

“The IPOsystem has increased the efficiency of our workers by over 20%. Today, we cannot imagine returning to standard production organisation methods.”

Mariusz Goik – Deputy President of the Management Board Ice Group sp. z o.o.

“The innovative functions of the IPOsystem have enabled us to reach an above-average efficiency of our employees.”

Jarosław Jander – President of the Management Board Zakład Obróbki Precyzyjnej – Łabędy Sp. z o.o.

“The IPOsystem has benefitted the organisation of our entire company.”

Piotr Pilch – President of the Management Board Teknomet Sp. z o.o.

“The management have gained time for process optimisation and streamlining measures.”

Wojciech Torczyński – Deputy President of the Management Board PRINTOR sp. z o.o.

More on

www.the IPOsystem.com.pl UIBS Teamwork Sp. z o.o.

ul. Por. K. Ogrodowskiego 27

44-203 Rybnik

phone +4832 722 86 08 fax. +48 32 722 86 09 e-mail biuro@uibs.com.pl

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Industry

ROBOTIZED AND AUTOMATED SOLUTIONS IN SERVICE OF INDUSTRY 4.0

GOOD PRACTICE

F

Polmo SA / Wasiak Gruppe has a long tradition in the Polish automotive components market. Its Board of Directors, facing increasing quality requirements set by clients, has decided to invest in complex robotization and automation for a welding line of compressed air tanks, which are the basis of the wide range of Polmo products.

rom the business perspective, the investment’s goal was to increase the production output – the first plan was to produce 55,000 compressed air tanks annually on this line. From the engineering point of view, this project’s aim was to ensure repeatable, B class highest welding quality. Welding – the key process in the production of compressed air tanks – is a very demanding process, technologically and organizationally, mainly because of limited availability of qualified welders, whose job is additionally restricted by strict regulations concerning welders’ qualifications and healthcare.

ASTOR Green Welding line is supported by 5 robots, which fulfill the process of welding and cleaning the welds. The whole tank production process is automated. The line operators deliver half-finished products for the welding process and deliver the finished products for testing. This production line can work 24 hours a day. Robotized welding enabled full control over the process and final product cost optimization. Robotized and automated solutions for compressed tanks production in Polmo fit in the Industry 4.0 idea, because they empowers in full control – thanks to overall production data integration, tracking the whole production process and gathering the process data concerning every single product.

They autonomize the compressed tanks production cell thanks to modern

Kawasaki robots.

Robotization has enabled continuous product quality improvement and production e f f i c i e n c y growth, as well as contributed to an increase in the credibility of the company in the eyes of foreign contractors, which is confirmed by Marek Wasiak, CEO at Polmo SA / Wasiak Gruppe.

“Robotization ensures high quality of products and optimizes product cost. It makes winning contracts easier for us”. The modernization has made the work easier for the operators, motivated them to broaden their professional skills and ensured keeping the safety standards at the same time.

•

The purpose of MES (Manufacturing Execution System) is to deliver data enabling the optimization of production processes, from the customer’s order to delivering final products. This process includes automatic data collection, which enables tracking of the current and historical production processes, machine efficiency and production quality. These platforms give us quick and concrete information about production order details. As a result, production efficiency rises and high quality of products is preserved.

L

OTOS Group is the second biggest oil refinery in Poland. The company is one of the leading asphalt producers in Europe.

Market and branch leaders are supposed to follow the market trends including modern production technology issues and the production organization itself. In case of production on such a large scale, it is not easy to estimate and precisely indicate the opportunities of increasing the production output. Despite existing measurement systems and indices describing the production process, because of their wide distribution (spatial distribution and belonging to different OT and IT systems), data management and its interpretation were difficult to execute. The solution was to implement one platform, accumulating all the measurement devices. Wonderware MES enabled the acquisition and processing of the data from measurement devices, counters, analysers, lab systems and data processing systems implemented in the LOTOS Group, in real time, 24/7. Such solutions fits in the idea of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), which assumes the integration of big amount of data from systems distributed within one production plant, with a possibility of continuous access to current data. For an end user, MES – as an IT system – enables monitoring

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current production parameters and production e x e c u t i o n according to the plans. Thanks to collecting all the data in the same database, it can be easily aggregated a nd all t he process, business, production and efficiency indicators can be easily calculated. MES systems become the standard of modern production plants, making a significant step forward to Industry 4.0. “Such systems introduce a lot of improvements for the managers and thus will be a basis of modern production management”, foresees Mariusz Pacana, Production Director, LOTOS Asfalt.

•

„We already are on the road to Industry 4.0. This revolution relies on modern technology, but mainly on people.

On Engineers 4.0.”

Stefan Życzkowski CEO, ASTOR

In ASTOR, we believe that people are the greatest capital of the company. For 30 years ASTOR’s aim has been to make the Polish engineering and managerial know-how respected in Europe and around the world.

Together with our customers we create the most productive solutions for them to achieve excellence in productivity and competitiveness.

Both small plants and large manufacturing plants use ASTOR’s solutions across almost all industries.

Are you ready for Industry 4.0? Let’s talk! www.astor.com.pl/en

Industry

WE ARE FACING DIFFICULT DECISIONS JANUSZ STEINHOFF, deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy in the Jerzy Buzek government, talks to Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś.

Would you attempt to assess the present policy on the mining and energy sector pursued by the government?

The government has taken steps to formulate a key document, which is the state’s energy policy. When drawing up the energy strategy until the year 2050, the government has to take into consideration European Union regulations, which have an impact on the rational choice of energy carriers. The Polish power sector is mainly based on solid fuels – black and brown coal. As a result, it will be necessary in the future to diversify our energy sources. In the long run, maintaining the dominant position of solid fuels will be impossible. Environmental costs will be increasingly high. Moreover, there is every indication that the output of black coal in our country will be gradually falling. In some mines coal reserves are simply becoming depleted while in others the extraction costs are too high. Consequently, in the future we will have to import part of the coal consumed in Poland. This is why a rational energy mix PM

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is so important for us. It is worth thinking about natural gas, renewable energy sources and nuclear power plants. One should remember that in 2020 the share of renewable energy [in Poland’s energy mix – ed.] should be at 15%. The goal is achievable, though with a different structure of renewable energy sources from the one we have now. At present, a substantial part of renewable energy generated in Poland comes from the co-firing of coal and biomass. We will have to gradually reduce the share of this source. Therefore, the 15% of the renewables should be made up of biomass, photovoltaic and wind energy.

I have the impression that nuclear power generation has been somewhat forgotten.

Energy Minister Krzysztof Tchórzewski has promised that matters concerning nuclear power generation will be clarified by the end of the year. Undoubtedly, developing the nuclear power industry is a way to diversify energy sources and to improve Poland’s energy security. On the other hand, PM

we have to be aware of the investment costs involved. The cost of 1 MW is around EUR4.5 million in the case of nuclear power, EUR1.5 million in the case of coal-based power generation and below EUR1 million in the case of power generation based on natural gas. We are facing difficult decisions. We have to define the energy mix in the most rational way over a long horizon.

Most of the modern businesses are well aware that market competitiveness depends today on steadily raising the efficiency of production processes. Is the fourth industrial revolution necessary in the mining sector?

Unfortunately, our power industry has not sufficiently prepared itself for international competition. European Union countries are consistently building a competitive internal electricity and gas market. We are going to expand cross-border transmission lines to ensure that at least 15% of the electricity consumed by a national electricity system PM

Industry

can be transmitted through cross-border connections. If the Polish power sector has high costs it will be uncompetitive. The same is the case with our industry - to be able to compete on the international market, we have to consistently introduce modern technologies and raise labour efficiency. Some sectors need thorough restructuring. Low wages are our competitive edge at present. But this advantage is coming to an end, if only because of demographic reasons. The supply of labour force is increasingly small.

Perhaps humans will be replaced by smart machines?

This process is taking place. Let us not forget that a modern economy is developing rapidly in Poland. For example, the Opel plant in Gliwice, a city in southern Poland, is not inferior to General Motors plants in the United States or elsewhere in Europe. Just the contrary, it is one of the most modern in the world.

Many manufacturing sites in Poland represent a similar level of modernity as plants in other European countries. Polish firms increasingly introduce modern technologies and equipment as labour costs are on the rise.

PM

What about digitization? Does it involve traditional sectors, such as the mining and metallurgical industry?

Mining is an exceptionally complicated industry. But even in such a sector the use of modern solutions is very high. We are among the world’s leaders when it comes to the amount of innovative equipment used.

PM

But it could seem that the Polish mining industry is underinvested and not modern.

The Polish mining industry has always been modern, even in the communist times, which does not mean that it is not contending with problems of various kind.

PM

What do these problems result from?

They result from difficult mining and geological conditions. We extract coal from a depth of 1,000 metres and in highly urbanized areas. There are natural hazards in most of the mines. These factors significantly raise mining costs. And remember that Polish collieries often have to compete with open-pit mines where coal is extracted with the use of excavators. The difference in costs is colossal.

To be able to operate on the global market, the Polish mining industry has to be competitive.

It has to be managed well. We had a problem with that in recent years. The government avoided difficult and unpopular decisions, and often indulged in wishful thinking.

PM

And now?

The situation is definitely better. Whether coal mines should be closed down or continue to operate has to be determined by their geological condition and economic matters rather than politics. At present, loss-making collieries are being closed down, which gives the mining sector a chance to recover. The situation I was faced with was even worse. When in 1997, as a member of the Jerzy Buzek government, I started to deal with the restructuring of the mining sector I found a deficit of PLN23 per tonne of coal, which generated PLN2.5 billion in losses a year. At the time I was leaving the office together with the government, the mining sector generated a profit of PLN7 per tonne. This was a result of a difficult restructuring programme.

PM

Twenty three collieries were closed at that time and the number of people employed in the sector was reduced by over 100,000.

But, as you say, the mining industry got back on its feet and for many years generated profits. Those who govern often take decisions guided by popularity ratings.

Governing is not about avoiding decisions that need to be taken. I had the honour to work with the government of Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek. They both left politics for some time, having lost the next elections. But they both wrote an important chapter in our latest history as architects of reforms determining the direction and pace of Poland’s transition to a new system.

Unfortunately, what is taking place in the parliament does not fill me with optimism. The disastrous quality of the legislation adopted results to a large extent from a glaring failure to observe the existing lawmaking procedures. I think that the ruling parliamentary majority identifies our problems quite well, but the way they propose to solve them is unacceptable. I agree that the justice system needs to be reformed. One must not tolerate a situation where court proceedings last more than 10 years. Procedures, low qualifications, the arrogance of prosecutors – all this means that the public does not have much trust in the justice system. But I am convinced that the laws on the Supreme Court and the National Council of the Judiciary, vetoed by the president, did not solve these basic problems.

PM

Don’t you regret that, despite the unpopular decisions and putting the mining sector back on its feet, it is now again at the starting point?

What has happened is very bad. In June, I was present at the presentation of a report by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) on the Polish mining sector in the years 2007-2015. According to NIK, opportunities were not exploited in this period, despite the earlier reforms and relatively good economic conditions. What is more, the report shows that the mining industry took more from the state coffers than contributed to them, if one takes into account the pension system. This situation was created because of a lack of responsibility. Economic policy means taking rational decisions rather than indulging in wishful thinking. I appreciate the undeniable success of Prime Minister Morawiecki in tightening up the tax system.

Pathologies in this sphere violate the principle of fair competition because they pose a threat to the development of the economy.

PM

So why have we seen such large public protests against the laws?

Reforming the judiciary is not the same as violating the sacred principle of judicial independence. The present political fight is not aimed to change the mechanisms and reorganize the justice system for the benefit of the public. The goal is to take control over the justice system in violation of the Polish Constitution.

PM

Let us get back to industry. Are reforms still needed here as well, despite its development?

Polish industry is developing quite fast.

An example is the automotive sector, which provides employment to more than 250,000 people. The successes of the furniture, chemical and agri-food industry give us satisfaction. One of the few areas which still require reforms is the railways and rail infrastructure.

The Polish railways operated very well before the Second World War and even in the times of communist Poland. At present, it takes us several years to modernize the railway lines which were built in communist Poland in a much shorter time. Wherever the private sector operates we are successful. An excellent example is the A2 motorway. Its stretches, constructed by Autostrada Wielkopolska, were among those built the fastest in the world. At the other extreme, there are stretches built by the state-run GDDKiA agency, which failed to complete most of its projects by the set deadlines and most of the companies involved in the construction process went bankrupt. The state should focus on regulatory rather than ownership functions. It should make regulations conducive to economic development.

• PM

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Events

WE NEED CONCRETE AND LONG-TERM DECISIONS Poland’s energy security over the years can be summed up in a single statement − no clear, long-term approach. The political changes and the conflict between the State’s interests and the restrictions imposed by the European Union have held Poland in constant uncertainty and suspense. Such conditions are a challenge to the partly State-owned energy powerhouses, and are even more difficult for private enterprises. The best part of this complicated puzzle is the gas terminal in Świnoujście, which has alone made us independent from Russian gas, opening up to supplies from all over the world. The issue with gas is not whether supplies are regular or not, but what price we are able to negotiate. Meanwhile, coal remains a bone of contention in our energy security in the context of EU requirements.

THE ENERGY MIX - A PROBLEM AS OLD AS COAL ITSELF The energy sector needs long-term plans and clear development strategies. This has been the mantra of people involved in the

56 polish 56 polish market market

development of the energy sector for many years. The lack of such a clear-cut plan coincides with the European Union’s introduction of the so-called Winter Package, which prescribes a reduction in subsidies for coal, an increase in the energy efficiency target to 30%, and a decrease in CO2 emissions by 40% before 2030. These targets are particularly difficult to achieve for Poland due to our energy mix, of which hard coal remains the staple.

On the one hand, Poland should strive to avoid conflicts with the European Union. On

the other, it should protect its national interests and make use of its natural resources.

Coal has always been more of a political tool than a source of energy for Poland. If there had been more political determination, the first nuclear power plant would now be nearing completion and a significant part of our energy would be coming from wind farms.

We are not there due to political reasons and we need to do our best to achieve the targets required by the EU by modernising our current coal plants, constructing new ones and

Events

making use of biomass. Representatives of the Ministry of Energy also mention such ideas as the need to make such industries as furniture manufacturing more involved, by including them in the process of power generation by providing biomass from manufacturing waste.

When it comes to forecasts for Poland and the energy mix in 2030, a position on this matter was presented during the NEUF conference

by Wojciech Myślecki, PhD. “It is a perspective that can be clearly defined today. We know that about 40% of the generated energy will come from hard coal, 23-26% from brown coal [...] The main reason why Polish coal will stay in the mix is that we’re not going to have any good and safe alternative to it in the Polish energy sector.”

Coming back to the issue of nuclear energy, the subject is still open for consideration. The most serious problem which seems to be preventing the authorities from making a final decision and is delaying the process of choosing a location time and time again, is the populist claims about the threats posed by such plants. It should be stressed that these claims have absolutely no factual basis and have already been debunked by scientists. Despite this, societies have always expressed an irrational fear of nuclear power plants. Hence, making the decision to construct such plants requires resolute political action, rational calculation and a degree of willingness currently not present among Government decision-makers.

Minimising emissions and adapting to the emission targets assumed in the Winter Package, according to the current energy strategy, are being conducted by Poland through the modernisation of coal-fired units, the extension of their operating period by another several dozen years, more extensive use of biomass, and the potential use of nuclear energy, which is regularly being put off until the near future. Renewable energy resources are almost completely absent, as the Ministry of Energy sees them as unreliable and cost-ineffective.

GAS SUPPLIES - THE GAS TERMINAL OPENING UP POSSIBILITIES We can be much more optimistic when it comes to energy security in terms of securing the strategic resource which is natural gas.

Thanks to the opening of the gas terminal in Świnoujście, Poland has become independent of gas supplies from the east. Currently gas, which is widely used in industry (including the rapidly-developing chemical industry), is supplied to Poland in several variants. In addition to the traditional ones, which included mainly Russian gas, the gas terminal has opened Poland up to liquefied natural gas from Qatar. During the visit to Poland of US President Donald J. Trump, the willingness to sign agreements on LNG supplies from the US was openly expressed. President Trump emphasised that he was not authorised to make such decisions, but that he was open to negotiation. On behalf of the Polish party the negotiations are being led by Piotr Naimski, Government Representative for strategic energy infrastructure. The decision on this matter will be made in the coming months. We must not forget about the Norwegian gas from Baltic

Pipe. That kind of diversification gives Poland a much stronger negotiation position when it comes to setting Russian gas prices. However, as claimed by politicians, another version is being considered, involving the discontinuation of any supplies from the East. Political arguments once again are taking precedence over rational economic thinking. Decisions which are crucial for State energy security should not be guided by emotions, but by objective calculations.

THE FUEL ACT - A BOOST TO INDUSTRY, A BLOW TO CUSTOMERS A draft of the Act known as “the Fuel Act” is being consulted on in the Sejm Committee. It can significantly affect not just the petrochemical market, but also most branches of the Polish economy. It assumes the imposition of an additional tax on refineries and importers. The planned rates are PLN 200 per 1,000 litres of petrol and diesel fuels along with bio-components, and PLN 369.69 per 1,000 kg of “gas and other products”. As a result, on the customer’s side, fuel would be about PLN 0.25 more expensive per litre. It is expected that the tax is going to bring an additional PLN 4-5 billion per year in revenue to the State budget. The Act’s significance, apart from the potential political consequences, lies in its two-pronged impact on the economy. On the one hand, the expected increase in fuel prices will increase transport costs, eventually affecting food and service prices. An unlikely, but possible, scenario would be to introduce the tax without affecting retail prices. The two main operators on the Polish fuel market are the partly State-owned companies Lotos and Orlen, which have achieved very good financial results in recent years. It can be assumed that it is possible to bear the costs of this tax without passing the burden on to retail customers. This would have to be supported by very strong political pressure, however, and is therefore rather unlikely.

On the other hand, there is also a group which has expressed its positive interest in the Act − construction companies. The plan is to allocate the projected State budget revenue to the construction and renovation of local roads. This could mean a revival on the construction market, which has to date been boosted only by EU funds coming from infrastructure programmes. The money from the new tax could fill the gaps which could appear in the budget after the end of the current European Union financial perspective, which is probably the last such significant one for Poland. The Act is important in the context of energy security, as it is going to violently shake up the market for liquid fuels, and introduce further uncertainties into nearly every branch of the economy.

The Polish economy needs clear, long-term plans for the development of the energy sector and its related sectors. Energy security is one of the strategic issues which should stand above party interests and political disputes. It affects all citizens, including the government and the opposition, and should not be guided by the shortterm interests of each successive government.

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Defence Sector

MIKOŁAJ PLACEK, President of Oknoplast Group

OKNOPLAST GROUP

AN INNOVATION LEADER

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knoplast is one of the top manufacturers of PVC windows and doors in Europe. It operates on 13 markets: Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Italy and Hungary. In June 2013, Oknoplast announced the establishment of Oknoplast Group, which is made up of three brands: Oknoplast, WnD and Aluhaus. As a result, the product line has been further diversified to meet specific needs of individual consumers. The product line is different on each of the markets where Oknoplast Group is present, depending on the needs of local consumers. For this purpose, Oknoplast conducts marketing research and every year ranks among the leaders in league tables of companies spending the most on research and development.

The mission of Oknoplast Group is to promote the quality of Polish goods, being an example for other Polish companies and conquering foreign markets with its breakthrough products. At present, sales of Oknoplast Group’s products to Britain are in a testing phase while the United States, Scandinavia and Middle Eastern countries are also on the horizon. This is expected to be translated into PLN 1 billion in sales after 2020.

PROMOTION THROUGH SPORT Foreign operations on a larger scale and in the long run are impossible without having a well-developed sales network and spending on marketing activities. An important step in

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building the Group’s position in Europe was investment in sport. Football sponsorship was one of the key elements in Oknoplast’s marketing strategy. It significantly raised the awareness of the Oknoplast brand, in particular among Italians, the French and Germans. It was a very successful move, for example in Italy where there is no shortage of fervent football fans. The Oknoplast logo appeared on boards during matches and the brand ceased to be anonymous. After several years of its presence in Italy, Oknoplast Group decided to carry out a public opinion survey among Italians and ask them: “What or who do you associate Poland with?”. Most of those surveyed answered “John Paul II.” Zbigniew Boniek, a former Juventus Turin player and now president of the Polish Football Association, came second. And Oknoplast ranked just behind Boniek. The marketing strategy turned out to be like hitting a bull’s-eye. In a matter of several years Oknoplast took over one third of the Italian market for windows and doors.

Sport sponsorship is one of the measures which enabled Oknoplast to become now one of the best known window brands in Europe.

President of Oknoplast Group Mikołaj Placek said in an interview for “Polish Market”: “We decided to make our presence known in Europe by means of very strong and reputable brands: Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan and Olimpique Lyonnais. It should be remembered that these clubs are known not only on local markets – in Germany, Italy and France – but also globally through their participation in international competitions. Viewers from across the world have watched Derby of Italia, a match between Inter Milan and Juventus Turin. It was quite

a breakthrough move on our part. We took this bold step as the first Polish company and it got a lot of publicity in the media. We sent the simple message that we are not “some company from Poland,” but a group intending to enter these markets, stay there, become established and start building its position as a leader.”

GLOBAL ACE WITH POLISH ROOTS Oknoplast Group, which is wholly Polishowned, is now the fifth largest manufacturer of PVC windows in Europe. The Group wants to be a trendsetter in the window sector.

“Over the 23 years of our activity we have launched around 40 innovative solutions as the first company on the market, setting trends for the development of windows and doors on the European market,” Mikołaj Placek says. “We were the first, in 2003, to start thinking about thermal insulation. We introduced solutions which are now standard in Europe’s window sector. German, French and Italian firms are following in our footsteps. This shows that our Polish products are unique and are ahead of the foreign competition in terms of technology.”

In 2016, Oknoplast Group was the first in Europe to launch a designer window, called Pixel, which lets in up to 22% more light thanks to its design. The building sector is moving towards large windows, of which Pixel is the best example. It responds to current architectural trends, sets them and is treated as part of a unique home décor. Oknoplast Group also has in its line new Smart Home window solutions.

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Defence Sector

L

AMBITIOUS PLANS LIKELY TO BE DELAYED

et’s face it - in terms of our investments in the rail network, we have failed to take full advantage of the previous EU financial plan. We fantasised about High Speed Rail and trains moving like a bullet at 350 km/h, but the reality screeched nearly to a halt and there are still many regions like Upper Silesia where passenger or cargo trains run at "breathtaking" speeds of slightly more than 20 km/h. Luckily, the European Commission met us halfway and agreed to either reallocate some funds to investments in rolling stock or urban transport, or to include these in implementation plans under the new budget period 2014-2020.

And, mind you, the latter involves some serious money. We are talking here about PLN 3.5 billion, and such investments as the modernisation of the route between Warsaw and Radom, and between Kraków and Katowice.

But we have failed to learn anything valuable from this bitter lesson. Announced in 2015, the Great Rail Investment Offensive, launched to make tender procedures more efficient, and to professionalise PKP PLK, the operator of Polish railway lines, for astounding PLN 11 billion, was nothing more than smoke and mirrors. There was either no documentation at all, or it was inaccurate. The process had to be started virtually from scratch, which means that while the road sector is now implementing projects with a budget of more than PLN 52 billion, the rail sector is only rolling up its sleeves and signing contracts. By late 2017 they expect to have secured PLN 29 billion out of the PLN 66-billion budget available under the National Rail Programme. Let me note here that this will already be in the second half of the current financial period, and we cannot be entirely sure whether it will not be shortened

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ADRIAN FURGALSKI, Deputy President of the Board, Zespół Doradców Gospodarczych TOR Sp. z o. o. as a result of the perturbation associated with Brexit and all the altercation over how much the UK should now be paying into the EU budget.

Another issue is that the previous Polish experience shows that no major rail investment, except perhaps for the first stage of the WarsawŁódź line modernisation, has been completed on time. In view of this, there have been some suggestions at the Ministry of Economic Development that it might be reasonable to develop an alternative scenario to serve as the basis for talks with Brussels about another possible reallocation of the funds.

What rail investment outcomes does Poland expect to deliver by 2023? As many as 9000 km of rail lines are to be modernised or renovated (to restore their original performance characteristics), 2000 km are to have an operational European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) to improve travel safety, and 350 km of lines are to allow speeds above 160 km/h. A lot of attention is being given to the improved competitiveness of rail transport. Now, in only 21 out of 152 connections between 18 metropolitan areas is the commute by train shorter than by car, on average by 70 minutes. The travel time for half the connections between major provincial cities is expected to be reduced by 2023 by 110 minutes, although, for some connections, where competition from motorways or express roads is tough, the time should be shortened even more.

The current financial plan focuses more on the improvement of cargo transport conditions, for instance by expecting the average speed of cargo trains to rise from 25 to 40 km/h. Investment plans accommodate long-demanded actions, such as standardised train speed, length (750 m) and axle load (221KN), as well as improved throughput. An important outcome is

the improved rail accessibility of ports, which are consolidating their position in the Baltic area from year to year. Unfortunately, the validity of these criteria seems rather questionable, in the light of previous plans. Despite the fact that the investments in key lines, such as E20 and E30, have been largely completed, none of these performance targets have been met.

Do we stand a chance of making a success of these investment projects this time? There are, of course, many concerns regarding, for instance, the amount of work our contractors are able to complete each year, which, in turn, corresponds to the amount of rail network disruptions, which when excessive, might hold up train traffic. Most experts generally agree that the market can implement 10 billion zloty’s worth of investments a year, and in 20192021 we expect investment peaks of PLN 12-13 billion. Following its amendment, the National Rail Programme provided for expenditures in 2016 running at PLN 5.2 billion. The completed works amounted toPLN 4.1 billion, causing projects to be delayed or postponed. PKP PLK is likely to enter into contracts for at least PLN 25 billion by the end of 2017. The market is responding favourably to the dialogue and adopted solutions, such as advances for the partial completion of projects, prepayments for the purchase of construction supplies (which correspond to 40% of the investments’ value), and changes in the role of the contract engineer, in which the focus on price has been abandoned in favour of quality (60%of the assessment).

However, the issues of risk distribution, penalties and contract provisions are still being discussed. There are problems on every construction site, but now these are to be settled • by arbitration.

Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna (Lodz Agglomeration Railway) is a new railway carrier that in June 2014 successfully commenced transport activities in Lodz voivodeship.

Trains run between Lodz and Sieradz, Łowicz, Kutno and Skierniewice. On weekends LKA rides also on the route Lodz - Warsaw.

ŁKA purchased 20 two-car electric multiple units FLIRT3 produced by Stadler Poland. The vehicles have spacious, air-conditioned interiors and are adapter to the needs of disabled passengers. Wi-Fi internet access is free on all trains.

The vehicles are maintained by the manufacturer in high-tech workshop.

www.lka.lodzkie.pl

See you

at

Reliability. Comfort. Safeness.

ir! a f e h t Stand No. C44

Infrastructure

PORT OF GDYNIA

NEW PUBLIC FERRY TERMINAL

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erries are and will continue to be a showpiece of the Port of Gdynia and the city. The conditions created by Port of Gdynia Authority SA for the development of ferry traffic will certainly contribute to a further increase in sales to the satisfaction of all partners in the difficult ferry business.

Seventeen years ago Port of Gdynia Authority SA noticed an urgent need to modernize the ferry terminal. The modernization project began in 2000 when the terminal was upgraded to handle at least two passenger ferries. The number of vehicle checkpoints was raised as was the number of check-in points for passengers. The parking space in front of the terminal was enlarged. A new mobile ramp to handle ferries of various sizes was also built.

The second stage of the modernization process began in mid-2003. The decision was taken to expand the ferry terminal building. In fact, a new passenger check-in building, meeting the requirements of the European Union, was constructed. A boarding bridge was built through which passengers go aboard a ferry directly from the check-in building. It was assumed that the passenger terminal would be located in the eighth dock of the Port of Gdynia for the next six years.

This is why at the end of 2005, as part of the SEBTrans-Link project, concrete steps were taken to design and build a new ferry terminal in the Port of Gdynia. Of the three variants designed, the one in which two ferries would be able to dock at the new terminal at the same time was chosen. A docking facility for a third ferry was to be built in the second stage of the expansion project. There were also plans to locate both ferry ramps at Polish Quay.

However, the plans of 12 years ago were not carried out because of the economic crisis of 2007-2009. It was only several years ago that it became possible to return to the topic so important for the Port of Gdynia. It is now one of the priority investment projects for the Port.

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As a result, a modern public terminal meeting 21st century standards will be constructed in the central part of the Eastern Port. The terminal will be situated at the intersection of the main arteries in this part of the Port: Polska Street and Chrzanowskiego Street intersecting at Karlskrona Roundabout. Thanks to this location, the terminal and the ferry handling point will be placed just behind the internal entry to the Port’s water area, in the vicinity of the Port’s main turning area no. 2, at Polish Quay, the longest in the Port. The new location of the terminal will make ferry manoeuvring easier, shorten the time of their stay in the Port by more than half an hour and make it much easier for ferry passengers to access the city centre. The distance to Kaszubski Square in the centre of Gdynia will be only several hundred metres compared to over 3 kilometres from the existing terminal at Kwiatkowskiego Flyover.

The new terminal will make it possible for much larger passenger ferries with a length of up to around 245 metres, which are now entering the shipping market, to call at Gdynia.

The existing terminal can handle ferries up to around 175 metres long. The solutions to be used in the new terminal are to make it possible to handle all kinds of ships. A twolevel ramp adjustable to the height of a ferry will also be constructed as part of the project.

A passenger gallery with an entrance link will make efficient passenger handling possible – it will be mechanically adjustable to enable boarding ships with different locations of the entrance. The construction of the new public ferry terminal is an investment project indispensable for the development of the GdyniaKarlskrona Maritime Highway. The existing ferry terminal, located at Helskie Quay on an area of over 2 hectares, uses more than 75% of its total handling capacity. The new terminal is to occupy an area of 7 hectares, or more than 9 hectares if one adds areas connected with it. The area at Helskie Quay vacated by

the existing terminal is designated for handling container traffic.

Additionally, as part of the investment project, a part of Polish Quay and Finnish Quay will be modernized. A modern passenger building with complete welfare and office infrastructure will be built, together with a warehouse and vehicle manoeuvring area with access to the road network and the railway. The terminal will be situated in the immediate vicinity of an intermodal railway terminal, which will enable increasing the share of railways in the transport of unit loads in keeping with EU and national policy to support environment-friendly modes of transport. The road system leading to the site of the new terminal was significantly expanded several years ago as Polska and Janka Wiśniewskiego Streets received additional lanes.

The investment project has been entered in the List of Identified Projects in the noncontest mode under item 3.2-7. The document is an annex to the detailed description of priority axes of the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment 2014-2020. EU funding is guaranteed for the projects included in the list. The cost of the investment project is estimated at around PLN190 million gross and PLN155 million net. Port of Gdynia Authority has applied for EU funding, which is estimated at around PLN90 million.

The construction works may begin at the end of 2017 and will last two and a half or three years. They will begin with the demolition of two old warehouses located at Polish Quay.

After its opening, the new ferry terminal will be managed directly by Port of Gdynia Authority. Every carrier will have the right to use the terminal. The new terminal will have space (offices, including box offices) for use by two operators simultaneously. This will make it possible to develop ferry connections to different Baltic destinations.

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Cultural Monitor

CM

CM – September 2017

THE SEPTEMBER CULTURAL MONITOR COMES UNDER THE BANNER OF CLASSICS – DIVERSE, BUT INVARIABLY VALUABLE. MACIEJ PROLIŃSKI RECOMMENDS.

“KOBRA THEATRE OF SUSPENSE” – “THE SCARF” – DIR. JAN BRATKOWSKI – TVP - 3 DVD

The set is composed of three one-hour episodes of the “Kobra” television theatre series shot in the 1960s and 1970s. At the height of its popularity the iconic series was watched by up to 90% of Polish viewers. Today’s viewers may be very surprised that plays featuring just a few actors with quite symbolic decorations may be more hair-raising than contemporary thrillers. In 2017, we have an opportunity to see another good example of this phenomenon. In the times of ubiquitous shortages in Poland it was Polish ingenuity, Polish talents and professionalism that reigned in entertainment and art – both the most elite and the most popular one. “The Scarf” is a 1970 television adaptation of Francis Durbridge’s novel. The body of a strangled young woman, Fay Collins, is found on a farm located near a little town outside London. Inspector Yates, who is responsible for the investigation, finds out that Clifton Morris, a publisher from London, is the last person with whom the victim has been seen. Facts and circumstantial evidence against him proliferate … The play was directed by Jan Bratkowski (1931-2015), a theatre director and actor. In the years 19681972, he was director of Dramatyczny Theatre in Warsaw. In 1978-2000, he directed plays at Polski Theatre in Warsaw. Bratkowski does not revolutionize television theatre, but tells us about a search for truth in a provincial town in a reserved and accurate manner. The cast includes great stars of Polish theatre and film: Krzysztof Chamiec, Stanisław Zaczyk, Kalina Jędrusik, Mieczysław Voit and Zygmunt Kęstowicz. Their work is first class. Grace, intelligence and humour – in a word, the canon of Polish performing art mercilessly exposing the shallowness of many contemporary television proposals.

CZESŁAW NIEMEN, “MARIONETKI” (MARIONETTES), VOL. 1 AND VOL. 2 – 2CD; CZESŁAW NIEMEN, “AEROLIT” – POLSKIE NAGRANIA – CD

Czesław Niemen (1939-2004), is one of the greatest icons of Polish music. He composed and performed rock, jazz and electronic compositions. He wrote theatre and film music, poems and lyrics. He used Polish poetry in his songs. Until 1967 he was a member of the Niebiesko-Czarni band. Then, he led his own bands, including Akwarele, Niemen-Enigmatic and Grupa Niemen. In later years, he performed as a soloist.

Since 2014 the Polskie Nagrania record company has carried out a unique project, which is to release the artist’s full discography in a remastered form.

Polskie Nagrania prepared the albums for release in conjunction with the Czesław Niemen Foundation. The recordings were remastered by Eleonora Atalay, Niemen’s daughter. “Marionetki” is beyond doubt one of the most important albums in the history of Polish rock music. Niemen again uses here Polish poems – by Cyprian Kamil Norwid, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz and Bolesław Leśmian. The double album was recorded in 1972 by a band composed of Czesław Niemen, double bass player Helmut Nadolski, trumpeter Andrzej Przybielski and musicians of the SBB band – multi-instrumentalist Józef Skrzek, guitarist Anthimos Apostolis and drummer Jerzy Piotrowski.

“Aerolit” was released in 1975. The title comes from another of Niemen’s bands called Aerolit. It is the only studio album of this band. It was made up of Sławomir Piwowar (electric guitar), Jacek Gazda (bass guitar), Andrzej Nowak (electric piano, clavinet), Piotr Dziemski (drums) and Czesław Niemen (mellotron, moog). The album contains interpretations of Polish poems by Cyprian Kamil Norwid, Zbigniew Herbert, Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska and Jonasz Kofta. We have here various styles and eras, but each interpretation is equally fascinating because Niemen and his band are inspired again by contemporary, avant-garde and jazz-rock music.

It is incredible how fresh this music sounds, despite the passage of several decades. Niemen has remained until these days a truly unique phenomenon. It seems he always searched for the most basic and universal elements of art – music and poetry. It is “bareness without ornamentation” and at the same time sophistication resulting not only from the musicians' virtuoso skills. The music instantly crosses the boundaries of applied art, is radical and different from everything that preceded it while at the same time so strongly and inseparably connected with Polish and multicultural tradition. I also like the “emotional lability” of this music, which skilfully moves from thundering and strong sounds to calmer and soothing ones. Or the other way round. A great artist and his unchanging masters. Great works, but not always easy.

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Cultural Monitor

“KRZYSZTOF KLENCZON” – POLSKIE NAGRANIA – CD

The cult of Krzysztof Klenczon has undoubtedly been present in the Polish show business world. And for a good reason. Klenczon (1942-1981) was a rock loner able to excellently combine “black and white” in his expressive singing. He was also one of the most interesting composers and guitarists. One of his bands, perhaps the most important one – Trzy Korony – had a rousing and spontaneous style inspired by the blues and rock of the late 1960s. The band had something which stood behind the power of our rock music at the time of its inception. What is more, the band came out equally well in hard rock pieces and romantic ballads. Although not all of Klenczon’s compositions are as good as others, his magic may appeal to everyone. The album re-issued by Polskie Nagrania contains a large collection of Klenczon’s hits recorded with Trzy Korony, like for example “Nie przejdziemy do historii, “Port” and first of all “10 w skali Beauforta,” which today is one of his best known songs.” The album itself is a required item in the canon of Polish rock.

“WOJCIECH MŁYNARSKI – RECITAL 71” – POLSKIE NAGRANIA – CD

The artistic work of Wojciech Młynarski (1941-2017), one of the greatest poets of Polish song, the author of over 2,000 lyrics, but also singer and director, is inimitable. He described Poland’s difficult, and sometimes senseless, reality with great charm and artistry, in a simple, deep and often very moving way. He did not submit to the expectations of the audiences. What controlled his work was always his internal conviction that what he was doing was just, honest and warm-hearted. “Recital 71” is his fourth album, released in 1971. The recording was made at a concert in the Chamber Hall of the National Philharmonic. Now, the unique – intimate and friendly atmosphere of the evening comes back with the re-release of the album on a compact disc. Wojciech Młynarski is accompanied by the excellent jazz band of Adam Makowicz made up of Czesław Bartkowski (drums), Marek Bliziński (guitars), Paweł Jarzębski (bass) and Michał Urbaniak (saxophone, violin). Timeless hits, like for example “Przyjdzie walec i wyrówna” and “Ballada o malinach” come here from the master’s lips.

“JACEK SKUBIKOWSKI” – POLISH RADIO – 2CD

It is a double album devoted to Jacek Skubikowski (1954-2007), a singer, author of lyrics, guitarist and a colourful figure in Polish music in the 20th and early 21st century. The first disc contains songs from the Polish Radio Library sung by Skubikowski, including his best known hits: “Jedyny hotel w mieście” and “Polski biały Murzyn.”

The second disc features his greatest hits performed by Polish music stars: Ewa Bem, Beata Kozidrak, Małgorzata Ostrowska, Majka Jeżowska, Martyna Jakubowicz and Lady Punk.

Jacek Skubikowski had a great talent to write about the most difficult things with lightness and irony. By starting his solo career at the beginning of the 1980s he proved he was one of the few Polish composers who could also write good lyrics or, if you will, one of the few good lyricists who repeatedly happened to come up with catchy melodies. We receive here widely known and less popular songs. They develop in us the ability to dream and remind us about what is the most important in song.

KRZYSZTOF LASOŃ – “A VIOLINO SOLO” – DUX – CD

Krzysztof Lasoń, 39, is a well-known Polish violinist and teacher. He is a member of the excellent Vołosi band, which combines traditional, classical and contemporary music. He is fascinated by balancing between musical styles. But what he values the most is the freedom of expression that improvised music offers him. His latest album has a personal dimension. Krzysztof Lasoń performs here Sonata No. 1 for violin composed by his father, Aleksander. After it was first performed in 1978, enthusiastic critics placed the piece on a par with compositions

by Bach and Eugène Ysaÿe. To satisfy the critics and fulfil his long-time dream, Krzysztof Lasoń presents his father’s composition alongside those of the old masters: Bach’s Sonata No. 2 in A minor BWV 1003 and Ysaÿe’s Sonata for violin solo in A minor op. 27 No. 2 “Obsession.” One has to admit that sonatas for violin solo have the good fortune to attract good performers. This is perhaps because the compositions are so difficult that only the best can play them. Krzysztof Jakowicz and Konstanty Andrzej Kulka are among the Polish violinist who played sonatas for violin solo, for example Bach’s compositions. Lasoń can also be called one of the best. He has absolutely no technical difficulties while these compositions abound in them. The richness of the artist’s dynamic scale is impressive. Listening to this is a unique and deep experience. It reminds me of the mysterious beauty of music – full of harmony, invention, naturalness, intuition, knowledge and depth, a beauty – sometimes rapacious - invented and created by great artists.

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Culture

GREAT OPERA ATTRACTIONS

Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera is one of Warsaw’s best known showpieces. It represents an enormous potential – both human and as a venue. It has proved for years that it is among Europe’s leading theatres. Co-productions with the greatest opera houses, the appearance of outstanding directors, singers and conductors, and a diverse repertoire make the Polish National Opera a place worth visiting. And the new artistic season 2017/2018 promises to be as attractive as the previous ones.

Maciej Proliński

T

he first of the planned premieres, on October 13, 2017, will be Ludomir Różycki’s opera “Eros and Psyche.”

Directed by Barbara Wysocka and inspired by ancient culture, the opera is set in various places and times: from the mythical Arcadia, Alexandria at the beginning of our era and mediaeval Spain to Paris in the early 20th century. It had its world premiere in Wrocław in 1917. In the period between the two world wars the opera enjoyed great popularity on European stages. After 1945 only three premieres of the opera were held in Poland, the latest one quite recently – it was staged in 2015

by Opera Bałtycka in the coastal city of Gdańsk. “‘Eros and Psyche’ is an important part of the artistic plan we have drawn up for the year 2018, which marks the centenary of Poland’s regaining independence,” says Director of the Polish National Opera Waldemar Dąbrowski.

“For this time, we want to create on our stage a one-of-a-kind festival of masterpieces from our national treasury and present – apart from Stanisław Moniuszko’s 'The Haunted Manor' – also other Polish operas, many of them now forgotten, like the one by Różycki.”

Another new and interesting item in the repertoire of the Polish National Opera is Claude Debussy’s “Pelléas and Mélisande,” a music drama to be staged as a co-production with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. The director is Katie Mitchell and the premiere is scheduled for January 21, 2018.

March 13, 2018 is the day of the planned premiere of an opera to the music of Karol Szymanowski. Staged as part of the Territories project, the opera is entitled “Infatuated Muezzin.

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Szymanowski – Oriental Inspirations.” The director is Natalia Korczakowska while Bassem Akiki, one of the best conductors of the young generation, will lead the orchestra.

“The Fiery Angel” by Sergei Prokofiev is also an intriguing proposal. The opera, based on Valery Bryusov’s novel, is considered to be one of the most enigmatic works of the 20th century. And in musical terms, it is a very difficult and sophisticated composition. The opera staging in Warsaw is another co-production with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. The staging is the work of director Mariusz Treliński and stage designer Boris Kudlička, a famous duo with many international successes to their credit. Conductor Kazushi Ono will lead the orchestra. The cast includes Scott Hendricks, Alexei Popov, Pavlo Tolstoy and Agnieszka Rehlis. The premiere is scheduled for May 13, 2018.

“Carmen” by Georges Bizet will be the last premiere production in this season. The iconic opera will be directed by Andrzej Chyra.

Monika Ledzion will perform the famous mezzosoprano part. The orchestra will be conducted by American conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson.

The opera will premiere on June 7, 2018. Andrzej Chyra, a popular Polish actor, made a debut as an opera director in 2013 by staging Shostakovich’s “The Gamblers” at Opera Bałtycka. Two years later, he successfully staged one of the greatest Polish contemporary operas – “The Magic Mountain” by Paweł Mykietyn.

November 10, 2017 will see the premiere of a ballet evening to the music of Eugeniusz Morawski, Aleksander Tansman and Karol Szymanowski. Entitled “Polish Ballets,” its conductor will be Łukasz Borowicz,

a successful promoter of Polish composers.

During the ballet evening the audiences will see three ballets: “Świtezianka” choreographed by Robert Bondara to the music of Morawski, “On a Stave” choreographed by Jacek Tyski to the music of Tansman (“Sextour”) and “Violin Concerto No. 2” choreographed by Jacek Przybyłowicz to the music of Szymanowski.

Another ballet, “The Lady of the Camellias,” will premiere on April 20, 2018. A story of a Parisian courtesan, written by Alexandre Dumas, has been adapted into numerous stage and film masterpieces. The dance composition is the work of John Neumeier, one of the greatest choreographers of the 20th century. He has used Frederic Chopin’s pieces as a musical illustration.

The 2017/2018 season will also feature many operas and ballets which premiered in previous seasons. These include Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” Moniuszko’s “Halka” and “The Haunted Manor,” Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” and “Chopiniana/Bolero/Chroma” a ballet evening, staged to a great success by the Polish National Ballet in the 2016/2017 season.

The programme for the 2017/2018 season also includes many concerts. Polish singers, Artur Ruciński and Tomasz Konieczny, enormously successful on international stages, will appear in Warsaw’s opera on January 26 and April 29 respectively. A guest concert by the London Symphony Orchestra on April 6 under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda, an International Opera Awards winner in 2016, promises to be a great treat for music • lovers.

PREMIERES OF SEASON 2017/18

EROS 13AND PSYCHE OCTOBER 2017 POLISH BALLETS 10 NOVEMBER 2017 PELLÉAS ET21MÉLISANDE JANUARY 2018 INFATUATED MUEZZIN. SZYMANOWSKI – ORIENTAL INSPIRATIONS 13 MARCH 2018 THE LADY OF THE CAMELLIAS 20 APRIL 2018 THE FIERY13 MAY ANGEL 2018 CARMEN 7 JUNE 2018

Culture

O NIEPODLEGŁĄ Wystawa IPN na Dziedzińcu Wielkim Zamku Królewskiego w Warszawie – Muzeum wstęp wolny

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ROK 1914

REMEMBERING POLISH LEGIONS On August 6, the 103th anniversary of the marching out of the First Company of the Polish Legions from Oleandry, outside Kraków, an open-air exhibition prepared by the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) opened in the Grand Courtyard of Warsaw’s Royal Castle to remind the public about the military action of the Polish Legions in the First World War. The exhibition, which will be on until October 12, is part of the celebrations of the Year of Józef Piłsudski, the founder of the Legions and independence leader, proclaimed by the Polish parliament to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth.

Maciej Proliński

J

erzy Kirszak, PhD, of the Wrocław branch of the IPN, who is one of the persons involved in preparing the exhibition, wrote: “On August 6, 1914, the First Company, which was the first regular unit of the Polish army since the time of the January Rising, marched out of Kraków to fight for Poland’s independence. The following years saw many historical changes such as the happy November 1918, victorious August 1920, tragic September 1939, the hypocritical February 1945 which led to almost 50 years of bondage for Central and Eastern Europe, and the full of hope June 1989.

A nation with an almost 1,000 year long history of statehood and 150 year long experience of foreign occupation and fight for independence should look for answers concerning its future in the great moments of its past. One of such moments was Józef Piłsudski’s military action in 1914 and its consequences.”

The importance of the developments brought by the early 20th century becomes fully evident when one looks at the situation of Polish society in 1918. What happened in that year was incredible – the order established by treaties signed by Russia, Prussia and Austria on the partition of Poland, an order consolidated by the decisions of the Congress of Vienna in 1915, was wiped out from the surface of the earth. What happened in 1918 was a result of turbulence, military defeats and revolutions in the occupying countries. One should remember, however, that success for Poland would not have been full if Polish people had not become engaged in these developments in many respects: intellectual, artistic, political and military.

And the Polish Legions brought us fame in military terms.

The formation of the Polish Legions began with the First Company. Established in August 1914 on the initiative of Józef Piłsudski, it was the first regular unit of the Polish army since the time of the January Rising, which had started in 1863. The volunteers joining the units came from all social classes – from

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peasants and workers to the educated class. The Legions were part of the Austro-Hungarian army under the command of Landwehr. They earned great fame during battles with the Russians. In 1914, they fought near the villages of Laski, Mołotków, Limanowa and Łowczówek. In May 1915, the First Brigade of the Polish Legions distinguished itself in the eight-day battle with units of the Russian 31st Corps outside the village of Konary, near Opatów. On June 1915, cavalry troops of the Second Division of Uhlans – 62 cavalrymen - broke through three lines of Russian trenches with a bold charge near the village of Rokitna. In September 1915, regiments of the First Brigade broke through the Russian defence line in a fierce battle near Kukle and Kamieniucha in Volhynia. In July 1916, three brigades of the Polish Legions stopped near Kostiuchnówka the attack of Russian forces, which were three times larger. More than 16,000 soldiers served in the Polish Legions at the peak moment - in autumn 1915.

The exhibition at the Royal Castle starts with photographs showing Józef Pilsudski and Kazimierz Sosnkowski, his second in command. The figures of the two military men are presented in remarks of Piłsudski about Sosnkowski and of Sosnkowski about Piłsudski. “To describe these pictures we used quotes from reminiscences of the Legion’s soldiers.

Written 100 years ago, they come from their diaries and letters,” says Jerzy Kirszak. The portrait photographs and all other pictures documenting first of all daily life on the combat trail come from the collections of the Ossoliński National Institute, Józef Piłsudski Institute in London and Jerzy Kirszak’s private collection. The exhibition will be coupled with educational classes provided by the IPN for school groups from September 12 to October 12. They will include history and arts workshops entitled “Poster for Independent Po• land.”

Culture

OUTSTANDING UNIVERSAL VALUE

The Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine and its Underground Water Management System in Tarnowskie Góry, collectively known as the Tarnowskie Góry Undergrounds, has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The decision was made on 9 July 2017 by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee during its 41st session, which took place in Kraków.

Maciej Proliński

T

arnowskie Góry’s lead-silverzinc mine is the largest and most historically significant mine of these ores in Poland, a testament to the country’s 500-year-old mining traditions. Located in southern Poland’s Silesian Lowlands, it played an important role in Europe’s metallurgical industry as early as in the Middle Ages. The history of the mine begins with an account of a peasant called Rybka, who is said to have discovered the first lump of valuable ore in the late-15th Century. The then village of Tarnowice started attracting silver and lead diggers, and, not long after, the town of Tarnowskie Góry came to into being. From the early-16th Century it enjoyed mining privileges. The current name of this town, which is actually located on a plain, has nothing to do with mountains (Polish: góry), but combines the name of a former village and the archaic word for mines.

In the late 18th Century the largest State mine in the history of local ore mining began operation under the name Fryderyk (it operated between 1784 and 1912).

In the 18th Century, Europe’s first steam-powered machine for draining mining galleries was brought here. Throughout centuries several thousand mines operated in the Tarnowskie Góry area. About 20 thousand shafts and over 150 kilometres of underground galleries were built. The complex includes the town’s two most famous historic structures: the Black Trout Drift and the Historic Silver Mine. The 600-metre-long section of the drift once used to drain the mine is now travelled on by tourists on boats. It is Poland’s longest underground tourist route with this kind of transport. The drift was opened to tourists in 1957.

The Historic Silver Mine is the only tourist route in Poland located in underground tunnels left after a former silver-lead-zinc mine. This small remnant of the old Fryderyk mine was opened to tourists in 1976.

The exceptional treasure and biggest attraction of the area are the very well-preserved, almost entirely authentic, complex of galleries, with a system of drainage drifts. Water from Tarnowskie Góry’s mining galleries was used not only for industrial purposes, but also for drinking, something which existed nowhere else in the world. What’s more, the preserved waterworks, which were based on mining galleries, demonstrate how developed industry once was in this part of Europe. It is this underground water, and more specifically the system of underground water management, which sets Tarnowskie Góry’s undergrounds apart from other historic mining sites. Water was first transported from the galleries into rivers, and then the same water, naturally filtered through dolomite, was used for drinking. The first water supply system in Tarnowskie Góry was built in the late-18th Century. It was a pioneering solution, and the local water also reached other towns in the booming industrial region of Upper Silesia.

These water supply and drainage systems were recognised in the application submitted to UNESCO as having “outstanding universal value.”

“It’s a great joy for Poland as inscribing the Tarnowskie Góry undergrounds on the World Heritage List will make this place internationally famous. It is the only application we have submitted this year, and we feel all the more satisfaction that it was accepted, as we are hosting this year’s session of the World Heritage Committee.

The Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine and Its Underground Water Management System in Tarnowskie Góry will now have a place among the most-valuable examples of world heritage. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this success,” said Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Prof. Piotr Gliński.

“Inscribing this site on the UNESCO World Heritage List is an event I see as a tribute to the innumerable generations of Tarnowskie Góry residents, who laboriously dug those chambers and drifts, providing a supply of water not just to the “White Silesia” of which Tarnowskie Góry is part, but also to a significant part of the “Black Silesia” which used this water in coal mining,” said Mayor of Tarnowskie Góry Arkadiusz Czech. He added that inscribing the site on the World Heritage List will certainly increase the number of tourists, especially those coming from faraway places. He also emphasised that, thanks to the activities of the Association of Tarnowskie Gory Enthusiasts (which made regular efforts to achieve the inscription on the list), tourism has already been prominent for some time. The UNESCO World Heritage List currently features 15 sites from Poland. The first inscribed sites were Kraków’s Old Town and the Salt Mine in Wieliczka. Other Polish historic sites recognised by this international organisation as places requiring special protection include Auschwitz-Birkenau, the German Nazi concentration and death camp (1940-1945), the Białowieża Forest, the Old Town in Warsaw, the Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork, and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, a Mannerist architectural and landscape complex and pilgrimage park.

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Culture

A WAY TO EXPRESS EMOTIONS, FEELINGS AND IDEAS

ADAM PIOTR ŻUKIEWICZ, a Polish pianist playing in prestigious concert halls of Europe, North America, Japan and Brazil, who gave his first piano recital in Warsaw in the Royal Theatre in Łazienki Park on June 3, talks to Maciej Proliński.

What does promoting Poland in the world through music mean to you?

I think that Polish culture has many great personalities. And this elite is Poland’s best showpiece in the world. As I give concerts almost exclusively outside Poland, I always try to promote Poland and its great music as much as I can. I use every opportunity to make it known that a pianist from Poland appears at the concert in one of the main roles. And music, which is a very universal language, is, in my view, the easiest way to promote a country and its culture. One of the reasons is that in the case of music there are practically no constrictions on the content and depth of the message.

PM

You must have been asked on many occasions what music is about. But I also have to ask you this question. Is music the magic thing being the combination of melody, harmony and rhythm? They often say it is something which is the most abstract.

For me music is first of all a way to express emotions, feelings and ideas.

PM

So what does interpreting classical music mean, in your view? If we have to do with ideas then I understand that when working on a piece of music or a composer you analyse all the non-musical stories associated with them.

Interpreting classical music is certainly a process. Of course, in this process, one has to get to know the composition itself. Then, one has to get familiar with its background, and not only strictly musical one. The third stage of this creative process is confronting the above with one’s own views, which means “filtering through oneself” the music and everything that is beyond the score. To sum up, interpreting classical music does not mean interpreting only the composition. It also means improving one’s knowledge about the era, the composer and finally oneself. Interpreting classical music means constantly learning about the world’s great literature, new pieces, and creative and PM

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performing personalities. It is an enormously interesting, truly fascinating, experience.

Listening to a symphony or chamber concert also requires some preparation and asking the questions: “What is it about?”, “Who wrote it?” and finally “How did he or she write it?”. One has to make some effort to take part in such an event. Concert halls are elite institutions, but they do not shut themselves off. Everyone has access to them as a listener.

Scriabin, Gershwin and Oscar Peterson.

How did the concert come about?

The main organizer of the concert was Andrzej Wilman, an expert and patron of culture of the Frederic Chopin Society of Canada.

I would like to give him my warm and heartfelt thanks. Being and playing in this beautiful place, so important for Polish culture, was an unforgettable, very important and truly great experience for me.

You live and work outside Poland – in the United States. Why there? And another question: What is it like to play music in different continents? Does playing Chopin in Europe differ from playing it in the United States?

To some extent, it happened by chance, my life simply took that course. I studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and my professor, excellent Brazilian pianist Arnaldo Cohen, was invited one day to Indiana University in the United States to teach a piano class. He asked me to move with him. And this is what I did. I completed my master’s course there. Then, at the University of Toronto, I earned a doctor’s degree. And for two years now I have been a piano professor at the University of North Colorado. I travel quite a lot and, as a musician, I love these differences among people across the world. And definitely, one plays Chopin in the United States differently from playing it in China or, say, Germany. The same composer, the same pianist, but so different emotions in the three continents.

The audiences differ greatly. And perhaps there is something else… Respect for tradition often has a paralyzing effect. But Americans, for instance, are completely free from it.

Are you going to make some recordings in the near future?

I plan to record my first album in late May and early June 2018. I have already chosen the place for the recording. It will be Prague in the Czech Republic. The album will be entitled “The Beginnings.” I want to promote modern piano music with this album. It will contain pieces by three contemporary living composers. The first one will be Czech composer Zdenek Trnka. In 1939, he decided to enrol at a conservatoire, but the war broke out and he had to discontinue his studies. He has never become a professional musician. For years he was a Czech language and music teacher at a secondary school. It is a very interesting story and the most beautiful thing in his music is the way in which it liberated him from all the tragedies in life. Just as was the case with Beethoven. The second composition will be by a South African composer who emigrated to Canada at the end of the 1960. Among the pieces he composed are excellent variations on the theme of a very popular South African song. The composer’s name is Jacobus Kloppers. And finally, the third composition will be a piece by Krystian Kiełba, my professor from the Karol Lipiński University of Music in Wrocław. Although educational, research and organizational activity plays a very important role in his work, he has also written really excellent piano compositions.

I am also preparing a surprise. Today, I can only disclose that one of the pieces in the al• bum will be my own.

PM

PM

You gave the first public concert in Poland on June 3 at the Royal Theatre in Łazienki Park. The programme of the recital was made up of compositions which define the wonderful history of the poetry and power of the piano – pieces by Beethoven, Chopin,

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Culture

MUSIC BRINGS

joy

AGNIESZKA ZIELIŃSKA, conductor, pianist, guitarist and composer, talks to Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś.

Her concerts include composed music and improvisations inspired by jazz, blues and film music. She has worked with the ATM Studio Film & Television Production Centre, the film music division, composed film music for Polish Television, participated in many music festivals, and collaborated with the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio. Improvised music concerts are taking up more and more space in her professional calendar.

"Children's education based on music therapy is a beautiful, worthy mission as part of which I am open to accept help from donors and all other people willing to support young talents from poor families", she says.

You help children from low-income families – that is a very noble thing to do.

At the Youth Community Centre in Warsaw I am working on a “Family” project. During my music therapy classes, I often work with children from dysfunctional families. I try to inspire them with music, I discover their new passions, and I want to help these children, to take them to a different world. And I can see that music brings them joy, that it takes them on a journey. The workshops are free of charge and addressed to young and older children aged 6 to 18. But their music adventure does not end once they come of age. Recently, I have written an album for a wonderful, 17-year-old girl, who also happens to come from a broken home.

She is very mature for her age, and so are the lyrics, for which I composed the music.

PM

Where did this desire to help others come from?

From the heart, I think. Believe me, every day I see children who are experiencing pain and suffering at home. But here, during our moments together, they forget about it. And this is an amazing feeling to see these sad children’s faces light up with true joy and smiles. Music gives them freedom, it liberates them. But it also provides them with a sense of security. I run the workshops to inspire the children so that they can spot their innate talents. We often invite parents to come and see how talented their children are. We have even PM

held a joint parents’ & childrens’ concert. This is beautiful too, to succeed in bringing those families together. The parents are there specifically for their children, and it also brings a smile to their faces.

You are working with children from dysfunctional families. Have you ever encountered a victim of abuse and had to react somehow?

Yes, I have. I saw children with bruises and other traces of abuse. But you know, such traces are not always physical, and often behaviour alone is enough to recognise a victim. In such cases, I talk to my colleagues to jointly decide what to do next, and then we do it. Happily, I must admit that this is happening increasingly less and less often.

Is this about stereotypes?

Yes. This domain is reserved for men. This is not due to women's lacking in any way as conductors or composers but rather stems from our inability to break through the glass ceiling.

PM

PM

Any plans for new classes?

Yes, my latest project is an art camp. We take children on summer camps, and, in addition to music, try to make them interested in ceramics, fine arts, etc. We want them to develop sensitivity to music, arts, aesthetics in general.

Why is that so? Women work in heavy industry, typically associated with “male occupations”. It would seem reasonable to assume that “culture is a woman”.

Classical music is reserved for men, and, according to the popular belief, the male composer is strong and determined. But that's not entirely so. Women have more beautiful emotionality. I can say from my own experience that the whole community perpetuates this stereotype, and is not even trying to change it. Once, an established composer gave up on writing a music score for a documentary. I took over and completed the job over the course of three days. Now can you imagine that in the closing credits I was named a co-author of the music whereas that man appeared there as the lead composer?

In your work as a conductor and composer, have you encountered discrimination in any form? And I’m asking this not without reason – nearly every classical music concert is conducted by a man.

Yes, sadly you are right about discrimination.

So, this is quite brave of you to talk about this. You accept projects even though you know a man will claim credit for them.

Female composers are not respected. After graduation, they don't have the chance or the “can-do” to work in their profession.

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Culture

WE NEED TO SPEAK WITH OUR CHILDREN, NOT JUST TALK AT THEM

“We need to consider children’s rights with their future in mind and listen to what children have to say.

Although our own adult ideas are important, they are of secondary importance from the perspective of children’s rights,” MAREK MICHALAK, Ombudsman for Children, talks to Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś.

PM

Children are getting bolder in expressing their feelings.

That’s good. It came to my attention when I was asking Polish primary school children which children’s rights were the most significant to them. Which right is the first one they would demand, the right which we, adults have problems obeying? Nearly 90% of them answered that it was the right to express their own opinions. In my view, it should become a guideline for the future. We need to learn to speak with children, not just talk at them. In the adults’ world, we like it when our message is communicated ex cathedra. We feel secure, but children need dialogue and attention.

PM

Is that one of the conclusions of this year’s “Children Count” Report?

The report collects knowledge and research results which have been lodged in various places until now. In Poland, collecting statistical data is still a bit of a problem. The data is dispersed. Sometimes, comparisons of information from two sources show that the data is inconsistent. That is why it is not easy to prepare an accurate report. But this one is accurate. It collects and compares data covering several years and coming from various sources.

PM

And what is the main conclusion?

Violence against children is decreasing, although I do not want to sound too optimistic.

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It is still very high. When I took the position of ombudsman, I made a list of several priorities. Acting against violence was one of them.

I have been analysing the legislative sphere thoroughly, as well as the practical side of the day-to-day implementation of the law. I try to have some influence over both spheres, which is apparent, among other things, in the ban on hitting children, introduced in 2010, and the entire procedure of what to do in such situations. The outcomes are already demonstrable. Looking at soft data, we can see that the approval level of the use of corporal punishment on children had fallen by 30%. It is a lot, but still not satisfactory. Half the population is still in favour of using such punishment. We cannot rest on our laurels. I can’t say that we have reached our goals. Our objective is 100% of society opposing this form of punishment.

Police hard data indicate a fall in the number of cases of inflicting various forms of violence. The police recorded 47 thousand cases involving violence against children in 2008 but around 20 thousand last year. The number of child homicides and cases of abandonment is also decreasing. We are moving in the right direction. New legal regulations are the next steps on the road. Until present, children were protected by the Family Code or the Act on Counteracting Violence. Today, we are also talking about social justice. There were numerous negative opinions in the media concerning

reports of making punishment for child abuse more severe. No one posed the question of why we are making them more severe. As an educator, I can also agree with the theory that the severity of punishment is not the best method of preventing crime. The inevitability of such punishment is the key factor. Until now, we have been dealing with a situation which I could not ignore. Beating children resulting in bodily injury, and burgling a house and stealing a TV, were subject to the same punishment.

The court could impose the same punishment for the two crimes. It was necessary to show that a child is not an object, and that protecting children is the priority of the Polish State. We have managed to achieve this under the new law. First of all, the child has been recognised as priority in court procedures. Until recently, the court could choose to pay particular attention to activities aimed at the well-being of the child; now it is obliged to do so. Secondly, we have changed the classification of punishments for violence against children - activities which were previously referred to as misdemeanour are treated as a felony as of 13 July. Thirdly, the obligation to notify the lawenforcement authorities on instances of child abuse has aroused the strongest reaction among the public. Until recently, the obligation was only placed on the representatives of public institutions. Today, individuals (natural persons) are also covered by this obligation.

Culture PM

Aren’t you afraid that imposing such an obligation would produce the opposite results?

I was running a campaign entitled “React to child abuse - It’s your right” for several years.

I was asked by a lot of people, why right, not obligation? In their view, reacting to harm done to children should have been an obligation. It was a social grass-roots initiative. I answered that the obligation was implied, but not laid down in legal regulations, then. It has changed. I get the impression that we have grown into this as society. The ban on hitting children introduced in 2010 was also met with protests from conservative circles. I was asked back then if it would not produce the opposite results. Wouldn’t the parents lose their arguments, wouldn’t their children be taken away?

The outcome is that there is less concession to violence and the number of instances of violence is decreasing. At the same time, the number of instances of false accusations has not increased.

Back then, it was called a revolution. It is currently regarded as evolution. We are going in the direction of the better protection of children.

Since 2010, we have been introducing a number of regulations protecting children against sexual abuse. We ratified the Lanzarote Convention, maintaining the right order in our activities − first we adapted Polish law, then we ratified the Convention. The introduction of new regulations was followed by a change in the Episcopate’s instructions concerning superiors’ reaction to information that harm had been done to a child. It will influence other spheres of life, acting as a preventive measure for the benefit of children. We must remember that children are fragile beings when confronted with adults.

The Polish State, as the successor of Janusz Korczak’s thoughts and of the authors of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a state called the Homeland of Children’s Rights, must implement measures aimed at protecting children.

PM

It is hard to comprehend why we need special legal provisions concerning the protection of children.

A child does not function in one dimension only. Children function in many dimensions, just like adults. If we look at the issue from the perspective of various ministries dealing with various matters, decisions which influence children’s lives directly or indirectly are made in all of them. At the moment, I am analysing and reacting to the disturbing proposed changes in the healthcare system. Moving paediatricians from the basic medical care level, underestimating the value of paediatric medical procedures, opting out of perinatal care standards, which in consequence will result in the liquidation of the monitoring system on children’s situations - these are only some of the ideas I am concerned about.

THE POLISH STATE, AS THE SUCCESSOR OF JANUSZ KORCZAK’S THOUGHTS AND OF THE AUTHORS OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD, A STATE CALLED THE HOMELAND OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS, MUST IMPLEMENT MEASURES AIMED AT PROTECTING CHILDREN.

PM

It destroys the developed standards.

It seems detrimental to the monitoring of children’s circumstances. Thanks to monitoring, we have been able to react if something wrong was happening to a child, for example if the child was undernourished. There have been no disturbing cases recorded since the introduction of the system. A couple of years ago, at my request, the Ministry of Heath introduced obligatory Children’s Medical Record Books, which had previously been only customary. Hospitals had been providing booklets issued by pharmaceutical companies including the advertising of their products. It is different today. The Ministry has prepared an official template for medical record books. Each hospital has an obligation to issue such booklets. They contain the dates of medical tests and vaccinations. We have had problems with medical check-ups of healthy children for years. Parents took their children to a doctor only when the symptoms of a disease were visible. This is a mistake, as doctors can detect disturbing symptoms earlier than anyone else. That is why I keep urging that each healthy Polish child take part in comprehensive medical check-ups performed by paediatricians once a year, but my call remains unanswered. Only then will real ill-health prevention be possible. There is still one more piece missing in the healthcare system – the paediatric care standards we have been developing with Minister Marian Zembala. Unfortunately, there is no will to introduce them at the legal level. I will soon complete the work on the amended Family and Guardianship Code, containing numerous vital proposals. It is a new comprehensive outlook on children and

families, a document protecting families from problems which were impossible to predict at the time the first Code was created a few decades ago. I think that the new changes will provoke a heated but necessary discussion. I hope that Parliament and the President will support me in introducing the changes.

PM

Will it be possible to address the issue of dividing care over a child in divorce proceedings?

It is one of the issues stipulated in the amended Code. As part of the Senate’s initiative, I managed to introduce the notion of “child’s right to contact with both parents” into Polish law. Until then, the provision stipulated that if the parents could not reach an agreement, one of them was awarded custody over their child, and the other parent’s right was automatically restricted. It was usually the mother who was awarded custody, and the father’s rights were restricted.

This is not the right approach. The court should not restrict anybody’s rights because it is the rule. This can carry substantial consequences. A parent whose custody rights have been restricted is devoid of the right to adopt children in new relationships. The custody right is not restricted because of violence or neglect.

The court should be able to evaluate all the evidence and be free to decide whether it is necessary to restrict custody rights or not. Deciding according to the aforementioned rule can be harmful to parents and children. Why should a child suffer if a parent whose custody rights are restricted is a good parent, but unable to come to an agreement with his/her partner? We should strive towards solving problems through mediation, but instead our system often provokes conflicts, instead of resolving them.

PM

The International Congress of Children’s Rights will be held in Warsaw in September this year.

The Congress will take the form of an academic conference, featuring scholars from every continent. They are professionals dealing with protecting children, fighting for their rights, and promoting children’s rights. The most renowned authorities in the field of children’s participation will attend the Congress.

It should be noted that Poland has a fairly good legal basis, as there is no better document safeguarding children’s rights to express their opinion than the Polish Constitution (art. 72 point 3).

Even the Convention on the Rights of the Child does not describe it as well as the Polish Constitution. The Congress of Children’s Rights is an attempt to answer Janusz Korczak’s appeal: “I call for a magna charta libertatis - I call for children’s rights!” The Congress will be held in the spirit of Korczak’s thought, as no one understood children better than the Old Doc• tor.

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Food Industry

THE ARTISANS OF coffee

“We have been present on the market for 18 years as coffee producers but we do not have a sales department and our products are not available in stores,” Tom Obracaj, President of the Management Board, Tom Caffé, tells Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś.

On coffee making and drinking, and on business Tom Caffé was founded in 1998. Over the years you have led a coffee producing company, have you noticed any changes in Poles’ attitude to drinking coffee?

Yes. Poland quickly followed the western coffee fashion and developed a taste for better coffee thanks to the rapid growth of cafés and wide choice of coffee and brewing equipment available in the shops. You can say that our core business is education and coffee production. We have conducted coffee training courses around the world within the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE). In the years 2002-2012, I initiated and led the Polish Barista Championships, whose finalists participated in the World Championships. For 10 years I have been organising the Coffee Olympics for young baristas who have not participated in any coffee competitions. A few years ago, we also launched the Coffee Olympics for Culinary Schools.

In 2000 in Poland, when I suggested organising the Polish Barista Championships, I noticed that cafè owners showed no interest in the idea.

As I mentioned, the championship took place in 2002 nonetheless. It quickly turned out that there was a need for such initiatives and that the championship could serve as a platform for sharing experience not only between the participants but also between competing cafès. These events have become an opportunity to promote drinking coffee and promote coffee education.

PM

You indeed place strong emphasis on education. When did you think was the right moment to introduce coffee as a product in your range?

Coffee as a product appeared unintentionally. It was not meant to be another profit-making venture, but was created out of passion, enthusiasm and over 30 years’ experience, which I shared with others. I was often asked: “Which coffee is the best? Where can I buy it?” Due to my involvement in recommending and promoting coffee, I began importing coffee into Poland in small quantities for my friends. As time passed, the business began to grow. Initially, we roasted our coffee in Italy, and currently we use our PM

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own coffee-roasting plant. We roast our coffee manually, in a drum furnace using a traditional Italian method which preserves the unique properties of coffee beans: their taste and aroma depending on the region and the processing method. In a way, the company builds on my professional career, experience and enthusiasm for coffee. We put a lot of heart into our coffee, taking meticulous care of each coffee bean.

You mentioned that your coffee was not available in stores. If so, how do you find customers?

Coffee sells itself. When someone tries our coffee, they usually stay with us for good. I am not into aggressive advertising. I am not sure whether it's the best philosophy but I have different goals. These are producing sustainable good-quality coffee, caring for freshness and correct way of brewing. This is our advantage against the competition and large companies.

We stay in direct touch with our clients.

PM

Who are your clients? Are these individuals or restaurants and cafès?

These are mainly cafes, restaurants and offices, but individual coffee enthusiast also cooperate with us. It is my ambition to provide them with an élite product, which is also an alternative to what is available on the market.

Coffee has a lot more to offer – it is like a flower, beautiful on its own as well as in a composition. To create an exquisite composition, you need to know a lot about flowers and be able to tell which of them go well together and which don’t. The same applies to coffee.

PM

You not only supply coffee to cafès but also train their staff.

It’s true. We provide training courses for cafè staff. I strongly encourage our clients to come to our laboratory and coffee-roasting plant to see for themselves the process of roastingand upgrade their brewing skills.

PM

Does this whole ritual of coffee production and drinking work in Polish circumstances? I have the impression that many people drink the same coffee for years out of habit, without looking for variety.

I wouldn't agree. Poles like to try, taste and seek new things. The same goes for food, cars and computers. We are curious about the world, about new things, and even if we don’t buy them, we read about them. Of course, I have come across people calling it “a black beverage”. In my opinion this is rather sad, and at the same time motivating to try to change the perception of coffee. Good coffee is about experiencing exquisite aromas and tastes, which is pure pleasure! If someone says they don’t like coffee, it means they haven't tasted a good, properly brewed cup.

Coffee has over 1200 different aromas and tastes! The taste of coffee depends on the quality of the beans, the roasting method, the brewing recipe and skills, and even the water quality! So, coffee making is a great learning process involving us and our clients throughout.

• PM

Can quality suffer when a company produces large quantities of products?

Yes, industry producers have a limited choice of beans and require fast and economical computerised technology. Our artisan coffee roasting is a slow, manual drum and air cooled process. It is a very arduous process which large corporations cannot afford. Coffee beans differ not only in origin or taste. Their freshness is of essence, as well as the location of the plantation, its surroundings, the time and method of picking the beans, their segregation and processing, and of course, the proper transportation from the tropical countries to our coffee-roasting plant. Moreover, running a small company and having everyday contact with clients, I can talk to them about their preferences, get to know them and their needs, and also find out about the way they prepare coffee. You must know that coffee brewing methods vary, and the methods of handling coffee preparation are also crucial. Each company owner wants to increase its sales. We want it as well, but not at the expense of quality.

PM

Food Industry

Apro Trade Sp. z o.o. T : +48 22 781 7777 ul. Narutowicza 37 info@tomcaffe.com 05-091 Ząbki, Poland www.tomcaffe.com

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EXPO Astana 2017

UNDERGROUND LIFE

THE SECRET OF HEALTHY VEGETABLES

Aren’t you worried that plants grow increasingly poorly and that the vegetables we eat have less and less taste?

The very poor condition of soils is behind many problems in plant cultivation. Polish soils are in the process of desertification and steppe formation. These days many people treat soil as an object – an inanimate thing to which they can add various kinds of chemicals without thinking about the consequences for its existence. Meanwhile, soil is a living, active, biologically very complex and integral component of ecosystems. Soil fertility depends not only on the concentration of mineral matter in the soil, but also on its structure, humus content and the presence of microorganisms living in the soil. The microorganisms are of strategic importance for keeping the soil in a good state and fertile. They are indispensable for the normal and healthy life of plants. A living soil means life and tasty vegetables. The BioVege company has chosen a path closer to nature.

BioVege Sp. z o.o. produces and sells organic vegetables.

The company is based in the village of Wilczkowice Dolne in Łęczyca county, Łódzkie province. This is where Piotr Krajewski, one of the members of the Board at BioVege, has his farm.

The company relies not only on the farm in Wilczkowice, but also signs contracts with farmers from across Poland. The constantly growing number of farms cooperating with BioVege enables the company to expand the range of products it offers and plan future production to meet specific needs of customers.

In the 2017 season the company offers potatoes, onions, shallots, carrots, parsnips, celery, leeks, red beetroot, headed

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cabbage, peppers, Jerusalem artichokes, soup vegetables, tomatoes and cucumbers.

All in all, BioVege puts on the market around 5,500-7,000 tonnes of organic vegetables.

At present, BioVege products are sold on the Polish market to suppliers for well-known shopping chains and to certified food-processors. BioVege is also in talks with foreign customers. In coming years the company plans to enter the European market with fresh vegetables and organically certified processed products, such as frozen vegetables and purees.

Piotr Krajewski: “Being true farmers, we are aware of how important and indispensable organic approach is in vegetable growing. This is why BioVege has initiated a new method of vegetable cultivation thanks to an innovative process based on the use of probiotic bioorganisms. Nature plays the most important role in our process. In this cultivation system everything is based on organic biocomponents and extracts, thanks to which our vegetables are tastier, and have a better look, colour and aroma. And the most important thing is that they have an increased concentration of trace elements, macronutrients and vitamins. They also stay fresh for longer.”

The vegetable growing process is supported by an electronic control system, which makes recommendations on a current basis so as to ensure that the vegetables are of top quality. • If you are interested in buying the vegetables contact BioVege: biuro@biovege.pl; tel. (91) 431-53-80 For details see the website www.biovege.pl