• India and Poland upgraded their ties to the level of a ‘Strategic Partnership’ following wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk in Warsaw on August 22.
• The historic visit by the Indian PM came as both nations celebrate the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.
• In the meeting, both sides vowed to significantly expand the bilateral defence and security ties with Tusk expressing Warsaw’s eagerness to be a key partner in New Delhi’s aim to boost domestic defence production and modernise its armed forces.
• Following the Modi-Tusk talks, the two sides unveiled a five-year ‘Action Plan’ (2024-2028) for the India-Poland Strategic Partnership.
• Both sides will ensure regular monitoring of the implementation of the Action Plan, with the annual political consultation as the primary mechanism for reviewing and updating the activities.
The Action Plan will guide bilateral collaboration in the years 2024-2028 across the following areas as priorities:
Political Dialogue and Security Cooperation
• The two sides will maintain regular contacts between foreign ministers, and they will use both bilateral and multilateral fora for these interactions.
• Both sides will consider supporting each other's aspirations on a case-by-case basis to contribute to multilateral cooperation in the spirit of the United Nations Charter.
• The two sides will encourage relevant institutions to hold regular consultations on security and defence cooperation to promote contact between defence industries, modernise military equipment, and address outstanding issues.
Trade and Investment
• Recognising opportunities in high-tech, agriculture, agritech, food tech, energy, climate, green technologies, infrastructure, smart cities, defence, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and mining, the two sides will explore further cooperation in these sectors during next Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) meeting scheduled for the end of 2024.
• Both sides will work towards achieving balanced bilateral trade and addressing all issues to facilitate smooth trade and investment.
Climate, Energy, Mining, Science and Technology
• The two sides will expand their cooperation in sustainable and environmentally friendly technological solutions for the circular economy and waste-water management.
• Recognising the crucial role of innovation and the growing importance of critical minerals, the two sides will collaborate on advanced mining systems, high-tech machinery, pioneering safety standards, and increase exchanges and cooperation in mining-related industries.
• Both sides agreed to work on concluding a cooperation agreement to promote the safe, sustainable, and secure use of space and commercial space ecosystems. They also agreed to promote human and robotic exploration.
Transport and Connectivity
• The two sides will explore developing cooperation in the field of transport infrastructure.
• The two sides will work to enhance connectivity between their countries and respective regions by discussing and pursuing further expansion of flight connections.
Terrorism
• The two sides reiterated their unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and emphasized that no country should provide a safe haven to those who finance, plan, support or commit terrorist acts. Both sides will make concerted efforts against all terrorists, including by designating individuals affiliated with groups that are listed by the UN Security Council 1267 sanctions committee.
Cybersecurity
• Recognising the critical importance of cybersecurity for economic and social development, both sides will enhance close interaction and increased exchanges in ICT-related fields, with particular attention to international cooperation, legislative and regulatory solutions, judicial and police activities, deterrence, prevention and responses to cyberattacks.
Health
• Both sides underline the vital role of strengthening collaboration in the field of health by exchanging and sharing information on areas of mutual interest, enhancing contacts among health experts, and supporting cooperation between health institutions in both countries.
People-to-People Ties and Cultural Cooperation
• Both sides will work together to implement the Agreement on Social Security and they will make efforts to complete their respective internal legal procedures in this regard.
• The two sides will strengthen cooperation between cultural institutions and organisations of the two countries. The two sides will strengthen exchanges between artists, language experts, scholars, and cultural institutions from both countries. They will also explore establishing cooperation and dialogue between their think tanks and experts.
• The two sides will work together to strengthen cooperation in higher education and encourage universities from both sides to organise relevant activities. They will also encourage respective authorities to establish partnerships between academic institutions in both countries.
India-Poland Relations
• India and Poland share a long-standing friendly relationship, marked by high level political contacts and vibrant economic engagement.
• Diplomatic relations were established in 1954, leading to the opening of the Indian Embassy in Warsaw in 1957.
• India and Poland transitioned to hard currency trading arrangements that were sustained by rising levels of trade as both economies grew in size and heft.
• A cordial political relationship has emerged in the current century, particularly after Poland joined the European Union in 2004, and became India’s key economic partner in Central Europe.
• Over the period 2013-2023, the total bilateral trade with Poland has witnessed an increase of 192 per cent — from $1.95 billion in 2013 to $5.72 billion in 2023.
• India’s export items include textiles, base metals and articles, products of chemical industry. machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical and electro-technical equipment, footwear, transport equipment, rubber and materials, articles of stone, ceramic products, glass, etc.
• India imports machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical and electro-technical equipment, mineral products, products of chemical industry, optical, photographic, measuring, checking instruments, etc.
• Indian investment in Poland has been steadily growing over the years and is now estimated at over $3 billion. Indian companies are partners in the development of Poland and have created a substantial number of jobs locally, especially Indian IT companies which have invested in Poland.
• There is a strong tradition of Indology studies in Poland, with Polish scholars having translated Sanskrit into Polish as early as in the 19th Century. Sanskrit was being studied at the 600-year-old Jagiellonian University in Krakow (the oldest in Poland) in 1860-61, with a Chair of Sanskrit having been established there in 1893. The Indology Department of the Oriental Institute at the University of Warsaw (established in 1932) is
the biggest center for Indian studies in Central Europe.
• A monument, commemorating Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja of Nawanagar, was unveiled in October 2014 at the Square of the Good Maharaja, Ochota District, Warsaw, Poland. Eight Polish primary and secondary schools are named after Jam Saheb, known as ‘Good Maharaja’ in Poland. The Maharaja had accepted more than 1,000 Polish refugees, mainly children, as they escaped the depredations of the Second World War in the 1940s. The surviving Polish children have formed an Association of Poles, which meets on an annual basis in one of the major Polish cities.
• Another plaque commemorating the Valivade-Kolhapur camp near the Monte Cassino War Memorial was inaugurated in November 2017 in Warsaw.
