NEW DELHI, India / AsiaWire.IO / – India and Poland agreed to double their bilateral trade by 2030 after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in New Delhi. The target was one of four announcements in a list of outcomes released by India’s Press Information Bureau on October 22. The two sides also agreed to set up a Defence Industry Dialogue and to hold a dialogue on counter-terrorism. Poland joined the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
Annual trade between the two countries stands at about $6 billion, according to PTI news agency. Modi said the leaders had agreed to deepen ties in defence, space and nuclear energy. He invited Polish companies to take part in co-development and co-production with India in these strategic areas. Modi also said Polish expertise would support new partnerships in critical minerals and coal gasification.
Tusk is on an official visit to India from October 21 to 23 at Modi’s invitation. He is accompanied by Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domański and a business delegation that Domański said would include 100 firms. An India-Poland Business Forum was held in New Delhi on October 22, with a second session planned in Bengaluru on October 23. In Bengaluru, Tusk is scheduled to meet representatives of the information technology and space sectors.
Defence and security ties move forward
The Defence Industry Dialogue is intended to support cooperation between the two countries’ defence manufacturers. Domański said Polish defence companies would be brought to India and that Poland wants to increase its defence exports to the country. Tusk made an apparent reference to the Indian military’s use of Polish drones during Operation Sindoor, saying the drones had been very useful. He did not give further details.
The counter-terrorism dialogue adds a new security track to the relationship. Modi said India would continue to support every meaningful effort toward peace in Ukraine and West Asia. Tusk said Europe must become more independent in minerals and strategic resources. He added that India and Poland have no conflicts of interest or historical issues dividing them. By joining the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Poland becomes part of an India-led initiative launched in 2019.
Strategic partnership enters its third year
India and Poland elevated their ties to a Strategic Partnership in August 2024, when Modi visited Warsaw. That was the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Poland in 45 years. The two sides adopted an action plan for 2024 to 2028 covering trade, investment, defence, energy, green technologies, agriculture and infrastructure. They reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the plan during the latest talks.
Modi said the India-EU free trade agreement, once in force, would open new opportunities for Indian machinery, chemicals, plastics and engineering goods in Poland. He also expects Polish investment in railways, advanced manufacturing, food processing and biotechnology. This is Tusk’s second visit to India as Polish Prime Minister, after his first in 2010. Modi held talks with Swiss President Guy Parmelin in New Delhi on October 5, and in May he co-authored an article on India-Italy ties with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.