Representing the Polish American Chamber of Commerce Pacific Northwest, Jacek Filutowski and Bohdan Raciborski participated in the meeting on June 17, 2013 organized by Seattle’s World Affairs Council, International Visitor Program. The International Visitor Program hosted a delegation from Poland of 2 emerging leaders working in the fields of public policy and international development. These visitors had been nominated by the U .S. Embassy in Poland as upcoming leaders in their fields and invited to the U.S. as participants in the State Department’s premier professional exchange program called the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). This particular program was entitled “Support for Democracy & Democratic Institutions in Development.”Over the course of about 3 weeks, the group traveled throughout the U.S. and discussed civic participation, promoting democracy, foreign assistance programs, and the media.
The Polish American Chamber of Commerce representatives discussed how the Polish American Chamber of Commerce promotes and fosters a relationship between Poland and the Pacific Northwest. Topics Included in the discussion were directly related to the role of the Polish American Chamber of Commerce Pacific Northwest in the recent Boeing 787 delivery to Polish Airlines LOT, business climate in Washington State and other Pacific Northwest states. Discussion focused on successful Pacific Northwest companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, Starbucks, Chateau St. Michelle, Expedia, Nike, and the exposure to the Asian International trade as well as how Washington State has grown in the last three decades. This meeting was an excellent opportunity to promote stronger US-Polish economic and democratic relations. It was mentioned that Polish companies active in the U.S. market and U.S. investors, in addition to Polish students participating in internships with US companies, are becoming the foundation for building a good relationship between people, between nations and between states.
