Poland’s new ambassador to the UAE keen to share his country’s military training experience

Robert Rostek, who is fluent in Arabic, is familiar with the Arab world, having spent 23 years among Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Qatar.

Robert Rostek, ambassador of Poland in the UAE. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Mona Al Marzooqi/ The National

ABU DHABI // Military training and defence are among areas of focus for Poland’s new ambassador to the UAE.

Robert Rostek said 10 Emirati servicemen have attended a two-month training course in cooperation with Polish forces and more will follow.

“It’s important because they will come back to the UAE with some new ideas about the quality of training in Poland,” he said. “The situation in the Arab world is very complicated so there is no doubt how [significant] it is to have a strong army. In my opinion, it is a unique opportunity for Emiratis to see from the European perspective as a full member of Nato our way of dealing.”

“Poland’s experience is really varied from counter-insurgency, intervention and stabilisation operations to peacekeeping and patrolling operations,” said Sabahat Khan, senior analyst at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai.

“Poland has been one of Nato’s most active players in recent years and so it’s accrued vital experience against the latest types of threats from insurgencies, terrorist groups and other asymmetric threats – the Polish military knows the challenges with stabilisation efforts as well as peacekeeping and humanitarian relief efforts. There’s a lot of experience the Polish military holds that will benefit the UAE military, especially given recent regional developments, but also because Poland works to Nato standards which are a gold standard.”

The embassy in Abu Dhabi is growing, with a military attache expected to arrive soon and larger premises in the next year. A diplomat in charge of agricultural activities is also planning to take office in the capital.

Mikolaj Zielinski is one of the 3,665 Poles living in the UAE. He said Polish special forces, also known as JW Grom counter-terrorism unit, were known to be some of the best.

“Poland has a good track record of successful missions with these forces,” he said. “Such units usually operate in foreign territories, so it’s useful to witness how this is done in other countries.”

The ambassador hopes to add new dynamics to the UAE-Poland relationship. “We’d like to push Etihad to start to fly from Abu Dhabi to Poland because so far, only Emirates does with one flight a day,” he said. “Last year, 70,000 Poles travelled through Dubai and I am expecting a lot [more] to travel to the UAE so I am hoping to have these flights in the coming two years.”

Mr Rostek, who is fluent in Arabic, is familiar with the Arab world, having spent 23 years among Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Qatar.

The 48-year-old, who graduated in oriental philology in Arabic from Jagiellonian University in Krakow - one of the cities’ oldest - moved to Abu Dhabi in August with his 10-year-old son and Polish wife.

“I visited the UAE quite often and it is the most important part for Poland in the region, so I am proud to be ambassador in such a dynamic place,” he said. “The country is beautiful and I plan on visiting all seven emirates.”