President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. welcomed President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland for a joint meeting at the White House on March 12. This historic visit marked the 25th anniversary of Poland's accession to NATO and underscores our two nations' ironclad commitment to the NATO Alliance, which makes us all safer. The leaders committed to ensuring continued support of Ukraine's self-defense against Russia's war of aggression. They also discussed the strong U.S.-Polish energy security partnership and the enduring importance of democratic values.
At the meeting, President Biden shared the United States will move forward with a new $2 billion Foreign Military Financing (FMF) direct loan to Poland to bolster its security and support its defense modernization using previously appropriated congressional funds. This loan will enable Poland's purchase of additional U.S. defense equipment, further supporting U.S. jobs and our deepening security relationship. The President also shared that the United States will offer to sell Poland 96 AH-64 Apache helicopters. This is a major step to provide Poland's armed forces with cutting-edge capability to defend itself, strengthen NATO interoperability, and further bolster the U.S. defense industry.
