Modest foreign minister brushes off ‘top global thinker’ honour

photo - msz.pap.pl

“This is in recognition […] of the fact that the Polish voice is being heard on issues, not only in our region and not only in Europe, but even here in Washington,” Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said after a meeting with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in the US capital.

His remarks refer to the prestigious, Washington-based Foreign Affairs magazine including him in their annual ‘Top 100 Global Thinkers’ ranking.

Sikorski, who was educated at Oxford University and spent some time working at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington DC, was ranked 85th global thinker in 2012 for “telling the truth, even when it’s not diplomatic,” according to the magazine.

For the fourth time running, this prestigious title was also bestowed on Secretary Clinton, who said that Minister Sikorski “absolutely deserved” this distinction on account of his commitment to “the fundamental cause – the cause of freedom.”

During his working visit to Washington, following a three-day trip to Brazil this week, Minister Sikorski met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Tom Donilon, National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama.

Talks focused on Poland-US relations and the European Endowment for Democracy (EED), which EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton allocated 6 million euros to promote “deep and sustainable democracy” in neighboring countries.

While in Washington, Minister Sikorski has also took part in a conference organized by the Foreign Policy magazine to mark this year’s announcement of the 100 Top Global Thinkers list. (pg)