Warsaw Humanitarian Expo International Exhibition has been organised by Poland to enable discussion on new forms of humanitarian aid, President Andrzej Duda said on Tuesday addressing the event, being held on June 11-13 in Nadarzyn near Warsaw.

Andrzej Duda, who is the patron of the fair, stressed he is proud of Poland which “after the bleak communist era has been developing so successfully” and for over 20 years has been “a donor of humanitarian and development aid” noting the fact that the country spends over PLN 2.5 billion (EUR 586,000) a year on development aid.

The president pointed out that the Warsaw fair is aimed at finding ways to expand existing humanitarian aid projects and develop more effective means of cooperation among humanitarian organisations.

According to him, businesspeople should be even more engaged in humanitarian aid projects and business cooperation with the government sector and international organisations creates great prospects and should be further developed.

Polish aid reaches the most distant corners of the globe, Andrzej Duda said. The country is involved in helping neighboring countries, including Ukraine or Belarus, and is also present in the Middle East, where Polish volunteers have been helping the civilian population since the onset of the war in Syria.

At the same time, Poland helps with humanitarian projects aimed at providing shelter and accommodation in Syria’s neighbouring countries such as Lebanon, Jordan or Turkey for the Syrian population escaping from the war, the president added.

In Andrzej Duda’s opinion, help for such communities must be much broader. “After controlling the crisis situation and satisfying basic needs, it should support the social and economic potential of these communities,” he stressed.

The nature of humanitarian crises is changing and the threats that the world has to face are becoming more complex, the president said, stressing that humanitarian aid initiatives must “be constantly adjusted to the surrounding reality.” (PAP)