Polish President Karol Nawrocki has begun a major diplomatic visit to New York with an unusually strong public endorsement from Donald Trump, as security, NATO’s eastern flank and the prospect of a permanent US Army base in Poland move high onto the agenda surrounding UN week.
Nawrocki and First Lady Marta Nawrocka began their programme on Saturday at Ground Zero, where they laid a wreath beside New York’s Survivor Tree and visited the memorial to the victims of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.
Poland’s presidency noted that eight Polish citizens were among the 2,996 people killed in the attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
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The Survivor Tree — a pear tree recovered badly damaged from the rubble of the World Trade Center and later restored — was replanted at Ground Zero in 2010.
The commemorative visit opened a programme running through 23 September, centred on Nawrocki’s participation in the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Trump: Poland has ‘a great president’
Nawrocki arrived in the United States against the backdrop of conspicuously warm comments from President Donald Trump.
Asked by reporters on Friday about warnings that Russia could intensify hybrid attacks against Poland and other countries supporting Ukraine, Trump responded by praising Nawrocki.
“You have a great president.”
Trump went on to say Nawrocki was “doing a fantastic job” and had the situation “under control”.
The remark was striking because it came in response to a question about Polish security rather than domestic Polish politics.
It also followed another intervention from Trump just a day earlier, when he credited what he called Nawrocki’s “bold leadership” with progress towards establishing a US Army base in Poland.
“Major progress is being made toward establishing a U.S. Army base in Poland,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“If this happens, the location will be announced very soon. This will be a historic step for our Great U.S./Polish Alliance.”
Nawrocki responded that Poland was ready to continue strengthening defence cooperation and said the Polish government would do everything possible to provide the best location for such a base.
🇵🇱🇺🇸 Trump says “major progress” has been made toward establishing a permanent US Army base in Poland — with the location potentially to be announced “very soon”.
— Poland 24 🇵🇱 (@poland24com) September 17, 2026
The US president credited the “bold leadership” of Polish President Karol Nawrocki and called the move a potentially… pic.twitter.com/Bk0if7nNBd
No final decision on the permanent base has yet been announced.
Security dominates Nawrocki’s New York agenda
The timing makes defence one of the most important themes surrounding Nawrocki’s UN visit.
Before departing for New York, the president met Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Chief of the General Staff Gen Wiesław Kukuła for an assessment of the security situation, recent developments near Poland’s border and NATO planning.
That meeting followed a week of repeated Polish military responses to Russian strikes on Ukraine.
Polish aircraft have been scrambled repeatedly, air-defence and radar systems placed on heightened readiness, and civilian airport operations temporarily restricted during attacks approaching western Ukraine.
The presidential office says Nawrocki’s American visit will focus heavily on security in Central and Eastern Europe, alongside developments in the Middle East and their implications for energy markets.
That gives his UN meetings an unusually direct Polish security dimension.
Baltic presidents among key meetings
Nawrocki is scheduled to hold talks with the presidents of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, countries that share many of Poland’s concerns about Russia and NATO’s eastern flank.
The Baltic states and Poland have repeatedly pushed for stronger air defence, additional allied deployments and greater investment in military infrastructure along NATO’s eastern frontier.
The New York talks are therefore expected to provide another opportunity for coordination among the four countries as Russian drone and missile operations become an increasingly regular security issue close to NATO territory.
The presidency has also announced meetings with other international leaders, including the crown prince of Kuwait.
Another opportunity for contact with Trump
Nawrocki is also scheduled to attend the annual reception hosted by the US president during UN General Assembly week.
Presidential foreign-policy chief Marcin Przydacz said Warsaw expected the occasion to provide an opportunity for at least a brief conversation between Nawrocki and Trump.
“We are counting on a short conversation about important matters,” Przydacz said, stressing that the visit was a UN trip rather than a bilateral visit to Washington.
The distinction matters.
There is no announced formal Trump-Nawrocki summit during the New York programme, and any conversation at the presidential reception should not be presented as equivalent to a bilateral White House meeting.
But the political context surrounding even an informal encounter has changed considerably over the past several days.
Trump’s public comments on both Nawrocki and the possible US Army base have placed Poland prominently in the administration’s European security messaging.
Permanent US base discussion hangs over visit
The possible establishment of a permanent US Army base is likely to remain one of the most closely watched Polish-American issues during the visit.
Trump said on Thursday that the potential location could be announced “very soon” if the proposal goes ahead.
Poland has long sought to make the American military presence on its territory more permanent as part of its strategy for deterring Russia.
US forces already operate extensively in Poland, including through US Army Garrison Poland and NATO-related deployments, but much of the wider troop presence is rotational.
A new permanent base would therefore represent a further institutionalisation of the American military footprint rather than the first permanent US military infrastructure in the country.
Trump’s announcement remains conditional, and neither Washington nor Warsaw has yet published a final basing agreement or confirmed a location.
That means Nawrocki arrives in New York amid what appears to be significant political momentum, but not yet a completed deal.
Polish business joins presidential delegation
The visit also has an economic component.
For the first time under a new presidential initiative, Nawrocki is being accompanied by Polish entrepreneurs as part of the Presidential Business Deck, or Prezydencki Pokład Biznesu.
The presidency says around half of Monday’s programme will be devoted to promoting Polish companies and establishing contacts with US partners.
“The president wants to be a link for these companies, open doors for them and help them,” Przydacz said.
Meetings with representatives of Polish and American business form part of the programme alongside the diplomatic events.
Diaspora remains part of the US strategy
Nawrocki and Marta Nawrocka are also due to meet representatives of the large Polish-American community in New York.
Contacts with the Polish diaspora have been a recurring element of Nawrocki’s US visits.
During an earlier trip in June, the president met Polish-American representatives while attending events in Washington at Trump’s invitation. The presidency said Nawrocki was the only foreign head of state at a White House reception connected with Trump’s birthday and the UFC Freedom 250 event.
The Polish-American electorate and wider diaspora community have long played a symbolic role in relations between Warsaw and Washington, particularly during presidential visits.
Ground Zero opens a more political week
Saturday’s Ground Zero ceremony was deliberately non-political.
Nawrocki and the First Lady laid a wreath in remembrance of the victims of the 2001 attacks, including the eight Polish citizens who died.
But the remainder of his New York programme will unfold against a much more immediate security backdrop.
Russian strikes close to Poland have prompted repeated military alerts, Warsaw is pushing for stronger NATO defences, and discussions over a permanent American base appear to have moved forward.
Trump’s comments have added another dimension.
Within two days, the US president has described Nawrocki as a “great president”, said he is doing a “fantastic job”, credited his “bold leadership” with progress on a US Army base and described the Polish-American relationship as a “Great U.S./Polish Alliance”.
Whether those unusually warm public endorsements translate into concrete security agreements will be one of the issues to watch as Poland’s president moves from the Ground Zero memorial into four days of UN diplomacy.
