Nawrocki and Marcos joint press conference in Manila: transcript

Key points

• Nawrocki said the Philippines had given assurances of support for Poland's aim to stay longer in the G20, and he hopes the EU and the Polish government will back the effort.
• He said he does not plan to meet Vladimir Putin, whom he called a dictator who started the war in Ukraine.
• He supports a permanent American troop presence in Poland but said he had received no report on the Polish defence minister's March meeting in the US.
• Marcos said both countries reject attempts to change territorial borders by force and keep lines of communication open while widening partnerships.
• Marcos pointed to a shared Christian heritage as a natural link between the two nations.
• Nawrocki cited Polish-made helicopters, disaster response, maritime security and Russian hybrid attacks on the Baltic Sea as areas for cooperation.

Chapters

1. 0:00Polish question on G20, Putin and a US base
2. 1:11Nawrocki on American troops and Putin
3. 3:50G20 support from ASEAN, Africa and the EU
4. 4:59Security lessons for Poland and the Philippines
5. 7:38Shared values and open lines of communication
6. 8:52Defence industry, disasters and hybrid threats

Full transcript

0:00We will now welcome one question each from the Philippine media and the Polish media and we will begin with our guest from Polsat News, Mr. Grzegorz Urbanek. Grzegorz Urbanek, Polsat News. Dziękuję za takie przedstawienie. Panie Prezydencie, pytanie do Pana Prezydenta Karola Nawrockiego. Powiedział Pan o tym, że otrzymał... You said you received an assurance from Mr. President and representatives of the Philippines concerning our ambition to remain for longer among the G20 format. What is the other type of support that you intend to seek before this summit which will take place in Miami in December?

0:38How do you imagine a meeting with Vladimir Putin who was invited by the Americans to this summit? And I want to ask you, this is something that is very much important in Poland, the March meeting of our Prime Minister of Defense, with Trump, do you know about this? Because Donald Tusk, our prime minister, says that this was not about the American base, which is to be built in Poland, this was about internal matters.

1:11So in fact, you asked me three questions, very complex. Okay, so let me begin. It is in the Polish interest, as you know, for a permanent base of American troops to be present in Poland. The US is our strategic partner. He is the President of the Republic of Poland. I do see the potential, the necessity for the representatives of the Polish government to meet the American administration.

1:43I do support these efforts. I did open the door for this presence, thanks to my relationship with President Donald Trump. But it is obvious that the Polish government has to maintain a good relationship with the American administration. The meeting you are referring to, sir, I did not get any report on that meeting. I think the Deputy Prime Minister of the Polish Government, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Sikorski and me, we should have received a report on this meeting of the Polish Minister of Defence.

2:27I don't know what you're talking about, we have to ask the Prime Minister about this and I'm sure that Prime Minister knows, but I think it's good for Poland as the President of the Republic of Poland. and also To see the Minister of National Defense of Poland, to meet the representatives of the American administration, including the President Trump. You have to ask Kosiniak-Kamysh, our Minister, about this. I do not plan to meet Vladimir Putin, as you know very well. I consider him to be a dictator who started a few years ago a war in Ukraine, i Polska jest mężczyzna w wielu formach, wkrótce UN, i zapomnijcie, że Unia i ruszna federacja jest mężczyzna z tego.

3:15Nie spotykam Wladimir Putin, ale podczas G20 spotkania, będzie mężczyzna tego formatu, bez względu na co się dzieje i kto w tym spotkaniu zaproszę Polska i całej regiony i 3 C's iniciaty. To spotkanie naturalnie z Władimiry Putinem. A trzecia pytanie, panie? To było o tym, gdzie będziecie szukać za pomocą G20. Widzisz bardzo ambitujące spotkania z representatami G20.

3:50Bardzo ważna jest... The Philippines are the leader in the ASEAN Association. They are chairing the works of this organization now. All the countries, Southeast Asia, countries meet within ASEAN. I have a meeting planned in the UK. I have met the president of the African Union. I have met African Union leaders. I will be visiting Senegal. Some really hard work has been done by Minister Marcin Przydycz as the Sherpa of the Polish G20 Group.

4:26So I think the agenda is really good. For 3-4 months we have been doing everything we can for Poland to have a permanent seat within G20. I do count on the support of the Polish government. One of the skeptical parties is the EU. Are you not looking so much with a favorable eye, us joining the G20 format? I hope that the Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the Polish government will do the job also in the EU. And I hope that the EU will also support our efforts to become a member of the G20.

4:59I have been doing everything I can, as you know, sir, and as you can see. we have managed to get an invitation from president donald trump it's a big success of poland we do hope to be a member of g20 now Hi, Your Excellencies. Sir, from the war in Ukraine to the tensions in the South China Sea, both Europe and the Indo-Pacific region are experiencing attempts to change the status quo via coercive actions and the use of force.

5:36What lessons can both the Philippines and Poland learn from each other given this evolving security landscape? And apart from, like what you've mentioned, the purchase of helicopters and defense cooperation, maybe what's next in terms of Poland-Philippine defense partnership? Well, let me put it this way. We have found in our discussions and in looking at the actuations of our two countries in response to the challenges, similar challenges that we are facing because the immediate connection between Poland and the Philippines is the belief in a value system and the respect for international And, of course, these incursions or attempts to change territorial definitions are unacceptable in both Poland and in the Philippines.

6:37And that is why, when answering the question, the President was very clear that the lines of communication remain open as much as possible. This is exactly the policy that the Philippines is undertaking, and it is, I believe, the correct way with which we can resolve such issues, and we will continue to do that. And in that regard, we work together by being partners and allies and with the challenges and, dare I say, even threats that we face, that this is an important strategy, an important policy in terms of foreign policy, that we widen our engagements with different countries, especially those who share our concerns and who share the value system that we have adopted.

7:38It is a natural alliance between Poland and the Philippines because of our background in Christianity. And Poland being, I believe, you are now the largest Christian country in the world and the Philippines being the number three. That immediately makes a very primordial connection between our two peoples, that cultural connection, and that is why we have arrived at the same strategy, the same policy of keeping lines of communication open and to keep stable, widening our partnerships around the world to promote stability and peace.

8:20And that is one of the most important elements of Philippine foreign policy, and it turns out Polish foreign policy as well. All right. Maybe to President Nerovsky. Sir, given what happened to Ukraine, how important is it to prevent any other conflict, let's say, in this part of the world, in the South China region, to prevent that from happening? Thank you, sir.

8:52First of all, the conclusion of our joint talks is that geopolitically speaking and security-wise, all over the world, we are at a time where threats to Security or to values in one region does not remain without an impact to what is happening in a different place, in a different region. Therefore, it is so important to build bilateral relations between Poland and the Philippines.

9:22It has a very practical dimension that 48 black hoax that Mr. President has also referred to, that they do play their role and they are produced in Poland, in Mielec, precisely. And these bilateral relations are really important for our security. Poland can learn security-wise from the Philippines, what the Philippines are very good at. It is the attack to climate disasters, natural disasters.

9:56Well, we hope they will not occur, but there is the civil security, military security, these areas, this is where we can learn from each other, our industries can cooperate as well. The same concerns about your question, sir, the maritime aspect, Poland and other North Atlantic Alliance member states, we are responsible for the Baltic Sea, the philippines are an island so security even several ireland so Maritime security is incredibly important. And this is also an area where we should cooperate. The Baltic Sea is under permanent hybrid attacks from the Russian Federation. Unfortunately, the entire Europe, not only Poland, is affected by hybrid attacks of the Russian Federation.

10:51And in the 21st century it is something new as regards the tools which are being used for disinformation, for hybrid war or for sabotage. So we have a lot of possibilities of joint bilateral cooperation.

Source and licence

Recording: File:Joint Press Conference of President Karol Nawrocki of Poland and President Bongbong Marcos of the Philippines - 06 October 2026.webm by Philippine Government - Radio Television Malacañang (2026-10-06), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The transcript is machine speech-to-text by the TidyTools Audio & video transcriber; the summary, key points and chapters were written by Claude from that transcript. Both may contain errors: check the recording before quoting it.