On August, 26, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to Ukraine, Henryk Litwin has visited NTUU “KPI”. This was a parting visit to university by the current head of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland; his cadence in Ukraine has expired, and he will leave Kyiv on the 31 of August, after 5 years and 3 months of his work in our country.
Henryk Litwin’s cooperation with KPI was frequent and fruitful. With his facilitation and direct participation the university has founded annual international scientific conferences “Pure water. Fundamental, applied and industrial aspects” and “Renewable energy and energetic efficiency in the ХХІ century”, he did a lot to facilitate the erection of the statue of the KPI famous alumnus, physicist and chemist Swiętosławski Wojciech, he had supported the Ukrainian-Polish center of NTUU “KPI”, with his support a “Ukrainian-Polish center of renewable energy and EE technologies development” was founded and many other projects realized (that were remembered by the meeting participants).
However it has started not from the conversation, but from commemoration of the KPI Students, KPI participants of Euromaidan and anti-terrorist operation, soldiers who gave their lives for freedom and independence of our country. Together with the president of KPI academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Michael Zgurovsky the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Repiblic of Poland to Ukraine Henryk Litwin has laid natural flowers to the monument of the Heavenly Hundred.
"We are very grateful for the assistance in substantial expansion of the contacts and deepening relationships with Polish colleagues and friends for shared projects that would have been impossible without your help – said Michael Zgurovsky at the beginning of the conversation that took place after the flower-laying ceremony, referring to Henryk Litwin. We would like to thank you for helping in stating closer cooperation with the Polish Academy of Sciences, which is now very active, necessary and interesting for both Ukraine and Poland; for all the good deeds that we are doing in order for our nations to have strong friendly relationship, which will remove all the unnecessary misunderstanding that came from the past, but should not hinder our common future.
Henryk Litwin who, by the way, brilliantly speaks Ukrainian, thanked for the opportunity of meeting and stressed that the KPI is one of the main partners of the Poland Embassy in Ukraine in various scientific and educational projects and in turn thanked the university and its students for their interest in establishing contacts with Polish partners. "This is a very important matter, and KPI is the main technical university of Ukraine. So for us, this cooperation is very important ", - he said.
Nevertheless the Ambassador of Poland takes into consideration difficult historical question concerning relations between our nations that recently emerged again on the political agenda. "We must work to ensure our approaches to complex issues of our history getting closer, and I believe that we should just return to our common basical work”, - he shared his thoughts with the participants of the meeting. Such complex issues should be solved not via the statements, but via the memory of the victims. This memory is alive. And we should preserve it together. The most honest thing will be to express a common tribute of respect and memory of these victims. This is the right way. I understand that these days there was a rise of emotions concerning history matters. But if there are complex issues, they should be solved together. And I believe that we have laid a solid foundation for cooperation and we can use positively even this rise of emotion. It is important to direct national energy to a certain way. Actually, after the last meeting of our countries’ presidents I was convinced once again that there is a common approach and understanding of what is most important is collaboration today and creation of good basis for the future,for the purpose of favourable development of our relations."
The conversation, which comprised also the vice-principal of international relations the associate member of the NAS of Ukraine Sergij Sydorenko, the vice-principal of educational work Petro Kyrychok etc., was really warm and sincere. At the end Henryk Litwin, who is also a world-famous historian, has presented the university with his new monography, which is devoted to Ukrainian shlakhta. And as a gift from the KPI and a token of remembrance of the close cooperation the university principal has presented Henryk Litwin with etching of the famous Ukrainian painter, the graphics professor of the Publishing and Printing Institute of the NTUU “KPI” Volodymyr Ivanov-Akhmetov, on which the first, historical building of the University is represented.