Polish leader arrives in S-E Asia tomorrow determined to develop relations in a wide range of areas

Tomorrow, President Aleksander Kwasniewski begins a visit to Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand to promote his country's new Asian initiative launched last year. 'We are not Eurocentric. We are interested in developing the best relations - political, economic, military and in the security field - with Asian countries,' Mr Kwasniewski told visiting journalists from Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia last week. Among the aims of its new Asian plan is to intensify economic ties and deepen political dialogue, not only in bilateral areas, but also in combating transnational threats such as organised crime, money laundering and terrorism. Another goal is to raise Poland's profile by establishing a network of contacts, for instance, in the scientific, educational and cultural fields. At Poznan University, one of the country's top centres for Asian learning, there are 15 candidates for every place available in classes on oriental languages, culture, history or politics. Students can pursue master's degrees in Japanese and Chinese studies. They can also choose to study other Asian languages including Vietnamese and Thai. Later this year, the university plans to also offer the Khmer and Indonesian languages. Officials here believe they can build on the good relations which have been developed and maintained with Asian countries in the past.