On the majestic tufted black leather sofa of his office, Krzysztof Suprowicz appears to be at remarkable ease leafing through the memory of his nearly 26 years in Foreign Service that has taken him across Romania, Yemen, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Moldova, and now Qatar.
The ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Qatar recalls the day, more than two years ago, he learnt of his next mission. “I was very thrilled at the idea of serving in Qatar. I knew almost everything about it. But I couldn’t imagine that the reality would surpass the knowledge I possessed about this country. It’s a very inspiring place. In spite of its limited size, Qatar is moving constantly and in one direction only — forward,” he says.
While working as an assistant lecturer in Warsaw University for a decade, Suprowicz spent nearly the same time in international business and foreign trade — six years of which he spent in Baghdad and the other time in Poland, handling business with the American market — before answering his calling of becoming a diplomat. 
In his sense of composure and measured poise, Suprowicz spoke to Community at length about everything from his diplomatic career to why he believes Poland-Qatar relations can only strengthen over the years.
 
You spent almost a decade in international business. How did your diplomatic career, then, begin?
Ever since I was a student at the Warsaw University, Institute of Oriental Studies, Arabic Language Department, I dreamt of becoming a diplomat. But the political circumstances in our country in the ’80s were not very conducive for a young person like me to get involved in. So I had to wait around 11 years after graduation to become a diplomat. I wanted to serve my country and my people, always, but I wanted to remain independent and preserve my independence in both, the intellectual and the spiritual sense.
 
How was the experience of making that switch and choosing a career in Foreign Service?
From the very beginning, it was very rewarding as I now could serve my nation. There was always something inside of me, like a vocation, which kept pushing me into serving my people. Foreign Service is yet another form of serving your own country and people. I didn’t need to make this switch from purely a material point of view — I was very well-off working as a director of an American company in Poland. I could have continued my career in business and I would have done just fine. But I realised there’s something above it and that I needed to add to the purely material dimension of life some spiritual sense, which I missed. In 1991, my first assignment was being the First Secretary at the Polish Embassy in Bucharest, Romania, where I had spent five years of my younger years. It was a difficult time of war and strife in the region, but I gathered a lot of experience. My first two years spent in service in Romania convinced me that I had made the right choice. I never again asked the question why I chose Foreign Service. It became my primary motivation. After nearly 26 years of service, I can say that I am still very highly motivated and carry with me, the same sense of fulfilling my mission and vocation. Our trade is trust. What diplomats sell is trust. We create trust among states. It is an indispensable element of our daily work. We create an atmosphere conducive to a closer relationship between our country and the state we serve in.
 
Could you briefly take us through the countries where you have served from then until your posting in Qatar in 2014?
I served as an ambassador in Yemen for six years, followed by serving in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Erithrea, and lastly, four years in Moldova, before I moved to Qatar in March 2014. I have served in some of the poorest countries of their regions. I feel serving six years in Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, stands for 12 years of experience elsewhere. It’s a very picturesque country and a very impoverished society. But they are very gentle despite what we hear today about the war and the atrocities. I suffered together with the Yemeni people.
 
Tell us about the Polish community in Qatar. Is it a sizeable lot?
The population of Poland is nearly 40 million people. But there are around 20 million Poles living outside of it. Four generations of Polish migrants are settled across the world. In the US alone, the count is over 10 million. The biggest Polish city in the world is not Warsaw, but Chicago. The biggest minority in London today is Polish people — more than 160,000 people stay there. In Qatar, there are only about 800 Polish people but the number is growing. The Polish people living in Qatar are highly educated, highly-skilled, young men and women with some work experience, and are very open-minded, creative, and ready to live in a new environment. They work for Qatari Central Institutions or as experts for Qatari government, and they work in private business firms, international law firms, and as experts within the Qatari oil and gas producing industry.
 
What makes Poland interesting for Qataris and expats?
Today, Poland is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. For the past 12 years, it’s been a member of the European Union, and for the past 17 years, of NATO. Poland is a country with tremendous opportunities for young, creative people who with their creativity could bring value-addition to the growth of our economy and the wealth of our country. But it’s not just the great Polish economy that deserves attention, but also its tourism. Poland is visited by 16 to 18 million people every year. It’s beautiful and has a mild European climate. Be it the stunning mountains in the South or the enchanting plains of Central Poland, be it its lush forests, or its more than 9,000 lakes, or be it the Baltic Sea with its pristine white beaches, there’s a lot on offer. Nature is preserved as it used to be 1,000 years ago in Bialowieski National Park, one of the oldest national parks in Europe.
 
Why is Poland important for Qatar?
Poland is one of the biggest producers of food in the world today. We believe Poland could eventually become an important partner for Qatar in its strategy to become self-independent when it comes to its food security programme. We have everything in our country that Qatar needs to have. That’s why we are discussing with the authorities, the ministry and the private companies here about Poland and exploring how our potential fits the requirements of Qatar. Actually, we have barely discovered each other. The Polish Embassy was established here 10 years ago. Our relations are only strengthening by the day. Qatar is a good partner; a partner one would wish to have. For Poland, Qatar has a lot to offer because it has got what we need — energy security. Moreover, Qatar is not politicising its commercial relationship in terms of oil and gas sales, unlike the experiences we have had with other providers in Europe on whom we used to depend for so many years for our energy resource supplies.
 
How do you find life here in Doha? Is your schedule always busy?
I spent most of my time working, meeting people, attending conferences and seminars, and of course, attending various events in the evenings. Life in Qatar is disproportionate to the size of the country, by which I mean how very active life here is. There are over 100 diplomatic missions in Qatar, which is also the expression of interest of the outside world towards it. Besides, it is also an expression of the role played by Qatar on the international arena. Qatar is certainly playing a very important role in the region.
 
You seem to be enjoying life in Doha. What’s the best part about being here?
Some people collect stamps, coins, I collect memories of people that I meet. It’s meeting people that I enjoy. I find it to be most gratifying to meet such diversity of people in one place. It’s true that Qatar has become another melting pot of cultures, and it is the best place in the region to be such a melting pot. I don’t feel like an alien here in Doha. In fact, sometimes, I really feel at home.


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