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Friday, September 25, 2026
8:00 AM EST
Washington D.C
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AGENDA

8.00 Registration and Light Breakfast

8.30 Welcoming Remarks

• Paweł Markiewicz, Executive Director, PISM Washington DC
• Bogdan Klich, Chargé d'affaires a.i., Head of Mission in the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington DC (tbc)
• Senator Grzegorz Schetyna, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate of Poland

8.40 Session 1
Upholding the Transatlantic Bond: The Role of Polish-American Strategic Partnership

While the current US administration's focus on burden-sharing signals a new phase in its alliance strategy, its core strategic goals remain unchanged. The US and its partners face hybrid aggression below the threshold of kinetic war, where malign actors like Russia and China exploit the vulnerabilities and interdependencies of free societies. In this context, a strong transatlantic bond is crucial, yet mounting tensions have led to growing calls for decoupling on both sides. This session aims to discuss how the Polish-American relationship can help forge a new transatlantic bargain that reflects the fragmented global order and adapts to the changing strategic outlooks of both America and Europe.

• Senator Tomasz Grodzki, Former Speaker of the Senat of the Republic of Poland
• Peter Rough, Director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia, Hudson Institute
• Michael Carpenter, Senior Fellow for Transatlantic Affairs, IISS
• Liana Fix, Senior Fellow for Europe, Council on Foreign Relations

Moderator: Paweł Markiewicz, Executive Director, PISM Washington DC

9.40 Fireside Chat
Towards a New Model of Polish-American Defense Cooperation

• Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, Secretary of State, Polish Ministry of National Defense and Government Plenipotentiary for State Resilience Strengthening

Led by: Marcin Terlikowski, Research Director, PISM

10.00 Session 2
The Perspectives for Defence Innovation in Polish-American Strategic Cooperation

Through historic military modernization, high defense spending, and its strategic location, Poland has become the anchor of NATO's Eastern Flank and America's main regional partner. As contemporary conflicts highlight the need for rethinking how innovation happens in defense realm and is implemented on the battlefield, Poland and the US have an opportunity to reshape their strategic cooperation, particularly through joint industrial ventures focused on defense innovation. Early successes, such as servicing American land systems in Poland and manufacturing Barracuda-class missiles, demonstrate the potential to strengthen European deterrence and support US global power projection. This session aims to discuss how Poland's growing defense industry and the redefined US approach to armaments cooperation and defense innovation can form a new pillar of the bilateral strategic partnership.

• Cynthia R. Cook, Senior Fellow, Defense and Security Department, Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Heino Klinck, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, Adjunct International Defense Researcher, RAND
• Scott Boston, Senior Defense Analyst, RAND

10.45 Coffee break

11.00 Strategic Address
Polish - American Defence Partnership and NATO 3.0

• Paweł Zalewski, Secretary of State, Polish Ministry of National Defense

Moderated Q&A by Marek Wałkuski, Polish Radio

11.50 Session 3
Powering the Transatlantic Partnership: Polish-US Energy Cooperation and the Road to the P-TEC Ministerial Summit in Warsaw

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine proved that energy security, fuel logistics, and industrial resilience are foundational to effective deterrence. By leveraging Poland’s expanding LNG infrastructure, civil nuclear program, and strategic location alongside US energy resources and advanced technology, both nations can transition from individual contracts to a shared regional energy strategy. This partnership enhances security and economic development for Poland while expanding markets and securing a long-term strategic presence for the United States in Europe. This session aims to identify the necessary steps to elevate Polish-US energy cooperation into a broader, regionally significant strategic framework.

• Wojciech Wrochna, Secretary of State, Polish Ministry of Energy
• Kaveh Farzad, Assistant Secretary for the Office of International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy
• Anna Mikulska, Senior Vice President, Head of Research & Strategic Intelligence, CGCN Group
• Landon Derentz, Atlantic Council Vice President for Energy and Infrastructure, Morningstar Chair for Global Energy Security, Senior Director of the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center

Moderator: Michał Doliński, Head of Office, PISM Washington DC

13.00 Networking lunch

Please RSVP to: dcoffice@pism.pl