NEW YORK (AP) — Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Wednesday in New York with Polish President Andrzej Duda, a staunch supporter of Ukraine who once proposed naming a military base in his country “Fort Trump."
The planned dinner meeting, confirmed by a person familiar with the matter, comes as European leaders prepare for the possibility that Trump might win the November election and return to the White House. Leaders of NATO countries are especially concerned given Trump's long history of critical comments about the Western alliance, even after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Some in Poland fear the get-together could hurt the country's relationship with the Biden administration while others welcome the prospect of Duda leveraging his friendly ties with Trump to make the case for backing Ukraine. NATO member Poland shares a border with Ukraine, and Duda, a right-wing populist whose term ends in 2025, has encouraged Washington to provide more aid to Kyiv to combat Russian aggression.
Trump has spoken out against such funding, but in a possible shift late last week, said he may support new money if it was in the form of a loan.
Duda, who was in New York for meetings at the United Nations, has long expressed admiration for Trump. When Duda was in a close reelection race in 2020, then-President Trump hosted him at the White House.
Trump is in New York this week for the beginning of his criminal hush money trial, which has dramatically limited his campaign movements. He is the first former president in U.S. history to stand criminal trial. Jury selection is set to resume Thursday.
Republicans in Washington are fighting amongst themselves over a foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other allies. Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement has been especially critical of the proposed assistance for Ukraine, a position in line with the GOP’s softening stance on Russia since Trump’s rise in U.S. politics.
Trump has long praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling his invasion of Ukraine “smart” and “savvy.” In February, Trump sent shockwaves across the globe after recounting during a rally that he had told NATO members that didn’t spend enough on defense that he would “encourage” Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to them. He reiterated that threat days later.
Such a move would undermine Article 5, which states that an armed attack against one NATO member or more shall be considered an attack against all member
Poland’s centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a political opponent of Duda, was critical of the visit with Trump. But Tusk expressed hope Duda would use it “to raise the issue of clearly siding with the Western world, democracy and Europe in this Ukrainian-Russian conflict.”
The socially liberal Gazeta Wyborcza daily said in a opinion piece that the visit “would be harmful and dangerous” because it would be interpreted as a Polish endorsement of Trump in the White House race and was a “slap in the face” of the Biden administration.
Duda's favorable approach toward Trump has been a source of controversy in Poland, where fears of Russia run high and support for NATO is strong. Duda faced mockery for suggesting years ago that Poland could name a base “Fort Trump,” which did not happen. Duda was also criticized after Trump tweeted a photo after a 2018 meeting at the White House that some saw as showing Duda, and therefore Poland, in a subservient position.
Duda’s supporters argued for the value of speaking to those in and out of power in Washington.
“We need to talk to both sides of the political scene, especially since Donald Trump has a good chance of winning and these relations must be maintained,” Paweł Jabłoński, a former foreign minister who belongs to Duda’s conservative political camp, said in an interview with the Do Rzeczy news portal. “International politics is about having relationships with everyone and having them as good as possible.”
Another NATO member and key proponent of supporting Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, met with Trump at the former president’s Florida estate earlier in the month before a visit with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, an autocrat who has maintained the closest relationship with Russia among all European Union countries, met privately with Trump last month.
Gera reported from Warsaw, Poland. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.
FILE - President Donald Trump meets with Polish President Andrzej Duda in the Oval Office of the White House, June 24, 2020, in Washington. Trump is set to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda in New York as Trump's criminal trial takes a one-day break. Their planned dinner Wednesday comes as European leaders prepare for the possibility Trump might win the White House in November. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - President Donald Trump and Polish President Andrzej Duda walk from the Oval Office for a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, June 24, 2020, in Washington. Trump is set to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda in New York as Trump's criminal trial takes a one-day break. Their planned dinner Wednesday comes as European leaders prepare for the possibility Trump might win the White House in November. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the press after the second day of his criminal trial, Tuesday, April 16, 2024 in New York. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - Poland's President Andrej Duda addresses a media conference at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania during the Three Seas Initiative Summit and Business Forum in Vilnius, April 11, 2024. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday in New York. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis, File)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) —
Around 30 men are crammed into a Kabul classroom, part of the debut student cohort at a Taliban-run institute training tourism and hospitality professionals.
It’s a motley crew. One student is a model. Another is 17 and has no job history.
The students vary in age, education level and professional experience. They're all men — Afghan women are banned from studying beyond sixth grade — and they don't know anything about tourism or hospitality. But they are all eager to promote a different side of Afghanistan. And the Taliban are happy to help.
Afghanistan’s rulers are pariahs on the global stage, largely because of their restrictions on women and girls. The economy is struggling, infrastructure is poor, and poverty is rife.
And yet, foreigners are visiting the country, encouraged by the sharp drop in violence, increased flight connections with hubs like Dubai, and the bragging rights that come with vacationing in an unusual destination. The numbers aren’t huge — they never were — but there’s a buzz around Afghan tourism.
In 2021, there were 691 foreign tourists. In 2022, that figure rose to 2,300. Last year, there were 7,000.
Mohammad Saeed, the head of the Tourism Directorate in Kabul, said the biggest foreign visitor market is China because of its proximity and large population. Afghanistan also has advantages over some of its neighbors.
“They’ve told me they don’t want to go to Pakistan because it’s dangerous and they get attacked. The Japanese have said this to me also," Saeed said. “This is good for us.”
But there are disadvantages, too.
Visas are difficult and expensive to access. Many countries severed ties with Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power, and no country recognizes them as the legitimate rulers of the country.
Afghan embassies either closed or suspended their operations. There's an ongoing power struggle between Afghanistan’s embassies and consulates staffed by people from the former Western-backed administration, and those under the Taliban administration’s full control.
Saeed concedes there are obstacles for Afghan tourism to develop but said he was working with ministries to overcome them.
His ultimate aim is to have a visa on arrival for tourists, but that could be years away. There are problems with the road network, which is half-paved or non-existent in some parts of the country, and airlines largely avoid Afghan airspace.
The capital Kabul has the most international flights, but no Afghan airport has direct routes with major tourist markets like China, Europe, or India.
Despite the challenges, Saeed wants Afghanistan to become a tourism powerhouse, an ambition that appears to be backed by the Taliban’s top leaders.
“I have been sent to this department on the instructions of the elders (ministers). They must trust me because they’ve sent me to this important place.”
The students also have aspirations. The model, Ahmed Massoud Talash, wants to learn about Afghanistan’s picturesque spots for Instagram posts and its history for media appearances.
Business school graduate Samir Ahmadzai wants to open a hotel but thinks he should know more about tourism and hospitality first.
“They hear that Afghanistan is backwards, poverty and all about war,” said Ahmadzai. “We have 5,000 years of history. There should be a new page of Afghanistan.”
Classes include Afghan handicrafts and anthropology basics.
An unofficial subject is how to interact with foreign women and how their behavior or habits could clash with local customs and edicts. Examples might be women smoking or eating in public, to mixing freely with men who are not related to them by blood or marriage.
The Taliban have imposed a dress code for women and requirements for them to have a male guardian, or mahram, when they travel. Dining alone, traveling alone, and socializing with other women in public have become harder. With gyms closed to women and beauty salons banned, there are fewer places where they can meet outside the home.
In a sign that the country is preparing for more overseas visitors, the country’s only five-star hotel, the Serena, has reopened its women’s spa and salon for foreign females after a monthslong closure.
Foreigners must show their passport to access services. Women with “born in Afghanistan” on their ID are barred.
The restrictions on Afghan women and girls weigh on overseas travel companies, who say they try to focus on the positive aspect of cultural interactions by making donations, supporting local projects or only visiting family-run businesses.
Shane Horan, the founder of Rocky Road Travel, said visiting Afghanistan should not be seen as an endorsement of any particular government or political regime.
“Ultimately, the goal should be to support responsible tourism practices that contribute positively to the local economy and foster mutual respect and understanding, while also remaining cognizant of the broader political context in Afghanistan.”
He said there was no input from authorities about what tour groups saw or did, and that the company worked closely with a women’s rights organization in Afghanistan. A percentage of the tour cost went into supporting this organization’s programs, Horan added.
There are no women at the Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management. The students don’t mention it. But an official at the Tourism Directorate does.
“It’s a heartbreaking situation,” said the official, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. “Even female family members ask if they can study here. But there was a change in policy with the change in government. The women who were studying before (the takeover) never came back. They never graduated.”
Taliban fighters take selfies by the tomb of Afghan Kind Nadir Shah in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)
An Afghan works in the garden of the renovated Darul Aman Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)
A general view of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)
Afghans walk outside Hazara's Sakhi Shrine in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)
Afghans take selfies at the renovated Darul Aman Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)
Afghans work in the garden of the renovated Darul Aman Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)
