Things to know about India-Poland ties ahead of Modi's visit

In a landmark visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Poland on August 21 and 22 this year, as announced by the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday. This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Poland in the last 45 years.

Coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the visit marks a significant milestone in the bilateral relationship. Here are important things to know about India and Poland ties.

• Diplomatic relations between India and Poland were established in 1954, leading to the opening of the Indian Embassy in Warsaw in 1957 and the Polish Embassy in New Delhi in 1954.

• During WWII, between 1942 and 1948, over 6,000 Polish women and children found refuge in two princely states in India: Jamnagar and Kolhapur. Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, the Jamsaheb of Nawanagar, provided shelter to over a thousand Polish children in his state. Many others found refuge in a large camp in Kolhapur. The Polish State and those who spent their childhood in India have meticulously commemorated this connection, remembering it as a touching link between India and Poland.

• India and Poland share long-standing friendly relations, marked by high-level political contacts and vibrant economic engagement. The bilateral relationship is wide-ranging and mutually beneficial. Poland is India’s key economic partner in Central Europe. Their shared commitment to democracy and pluralism is reinforced by their friendly ties.

• This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Poland.

Leaders’ level interactions

• High-level visits from India to Poland include Presidents V.V. Giri (1970), Zail Singh (1986), S.D. Sharma (1996) and Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru (1955), Indira Gandhi (1967), and Morarji Desai (1979). The Vice President visited in 2017.

• From the Polish side, high-level visits include Presidents Lech Walesa (1994 and 1998) and Alexander Kwasniewski (1998), Prime Ministers Cyrankiewicz (1957) and Jaroszewicz (1973), and Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller (2003).

• The last Prime Ministerial visit from India was in June 1979 by Morarji Desai, 45 years ago.

• The President of India visited Poland in April 2009, reciprocated by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s visit to India in September 2010.

• EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar visited Poland from August 28-29, 2019, after a gap of 32 years. The last visit by a Minister of External Affairs to Poland was in 1987.

• Marcin Przydacz, Under Secretary of State for Poland, visited India in September 2019 for the inauguration of LOT Polish Airlines’ direct flight on the Warsaw–Delhi sector.

• Bartoszewski, Secretary of State for Poland, visited India from February 19-23, 2024, to participate in the Raisina Dialogue and the second edition of the CII India-Europe Business & Sustainability Conclave.

Trade and economic cooperation

• Poland continues to be India’s largest trading and investment partner in Central and Eastern Europe, with over USD 3 billion in Indian investment.

• Poland-India trade is balanced, and the trade volume has shown upward growth over the last decade.

• Bilateral trade in FY 2023-24 stands at USD 5.72 billion.

• Indian exports to Poland stand at USD 3.96 billion, while imports are USD 1.76 billion.

Key areas of cooperation

• Investment from India in Poland amounts to over USD 3 billion, and Polish investment in India amounts to over USD 685 million. Some Indian companies present in Poland include ArcelorMittal, Videocon, Escorts, Strides Arcolab, Ranbaxy, Essel Propack, KPIT Cummins, Zensar Technologies Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies Ltd, Infosys, Wipro, Jindal Stainless, Berger Paints India, UFLEX, and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.

• Some Polish companies present in India include Toruńskie Zakłady Materiałów Opakunkowych (TZMO) in Dindigul (manufacturing hygiene and sanitary products) and Bengaluru, Can-Pack Poland in Aurangabad (manufacturing metal packaging), Geofizyka Toruń, Famur Group (mining), and Ekolog (green energy).

• Poland offers tremendous opportunities for bilateral collaborations in infrastructure, mining/energy, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, textiles, engineering, and agro-food processing. It also opens up opportunities for cooperation in start-ups, particularly in tech hubs.

• Partnerships between universities and research institutions can promote student and faculty exchanges, joint degrees, collaborative research, vocational education, and training, helping India improve its skilled developmental programs.

People-to-people ties and cultural cooperation

• There is a strong tradition of Indology studies in Poland, with Polish scholars translating Sanskrit into Polish as early as the 19th century. Sanskrit has been studied at the 600-year-old Jagiellonian University in Krakow (the oldest in Poland) since 1860-61, with a Chair of Sanskrit established there in 1893.

• The Indology Department of the Oriental Institute at the University of Warsaw (established in 1932) is the largest center for Indian studies in Central Europe. The study of Indian languages, literature, culture, and Indology is also pursued at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and the University of Wrocław in Poland.

• An MoU for the establishment of an ICCR Chair of Indian Studies at Jagiellonian University, Krakow, was signed between ICCR and Jagiellonian University in February 2017 and subsequently renewed twice in 2020 and 2023. Two Indian professors have served as ICCR Chair Professors of Indian Studies at the university since the signing of the MoU.

• There is significant interest in contemporary Indian literature and theater. Ayurveda, Yoga, and the Indian traditional system of medicine have been widely acknowledged and practiced in Poland.

• An estimated 25,000 Indians are living in Poland. The number of Indian students in Poland is on the rise, with around 5,000 students currently pursuing studies at various universities there.

• Tusk has met Prime Minister Modi several times during his tenure as the European Council President, including at the EU-India Summits in Brussels (March 2016) and New Delhi (October 2017), as well as on the margins of the G-20 Summits in Antalya (November 2015) and Buenos Aires (December 2018).

• On March 1, 2022, Modi spoke on the phone with President Duda and warmly thanked him for the assistance provided by Poland in the evacuation of Indian citizens from Ukraine under ‘Operation Ganga.’ Modi also recalled the assistance offered by Poland following the Gujarat earthquake in 2001.