After striking a long-term gas supply deal with energy-rich Qatar and selling two shipyards to a fund from the Gulf state, Poland is looking to became an EU hub for Mideast investors. With the ink barely dry on a 20-year liquefied natural gas deal between Poland's national gas firm PGNiG and QatarGas, Polish Prime Minister on Wednesday hailed that accord and the earlier shipyard sale to QInvest. “These two deals indicate that investors from the region will have a sustained interest in strategic cooperation with Poland,” Tusk said. “There is a possibility of new injections of capital in our country” from the Middle East, he said, adding that he planned a trip to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. That reportedly is scheduled for November. Last year, the pro-business premier led a Polish economic mission to Kuwait and Qatar, a visit which has now borne fruit. Monday's deal covered the supply from 2014 of an annual one million tons of liquefied natural gas, shipped to a to-be-built terminal in the northwestern port of Swinoujscie, near the German border. The contract is worth around $550 million (355 million euros) a year over the two decades, making it the largest single deal signed by Poland since it switched to a market economy after the fall of the communist regime in 1989. Poland, which meets 30 percent of its gas needs from its own resources, 40 percent from Russian imports and the remainder from a variety of sources, has been looking for ways to further diversify its suppliers. Poland currently relies on coal-fired plants for 94 percent of its electricity but has committed itself to easing its dependence on coal as part of the European Union's climate package which limits greenhouse gas emissions. The sale of Szczecin and Gdynia yards was settled in May, but the buyer's identity was kept under wraps until Tuesday. The 364-million zloty ($115-million) deal - backed by the Qatar Islamic Bank which owns 26 percent of QInvest
