Poland PM Leads Delegation to India, Deals to Go Beyond EU FTA

· Trade and Investment: India and Poland set a target to double bilateral trade by 2030 and encouraged greater investment, business partnerships and market access.

· India-EU FTA: Both leaders called for the early signing, ratification and timely implementation of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement to boost trade, investment and supply-chain diversification.

· Defence Cooperation: Both countries agreed to strengthen defence industrial collaboration through a proposed Defence Industry Dialogue, including technology partnerships, co-development and co-production.

· Technology and Innovation: India and Poland will explore joint research and partnerships in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum technologies, space and startups.

· Critical Minerals and Energy: Both sides identified opportunities in battery recycling, rare earth mineral refining, mining, clean energy and sustainable technologies.

· Connectivity and Shipping: The leaders encouraged discussions on direct flights between India and Poland and cooperation in maritime security, ports, shipping and the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

· Agriculture and Industry: Both countries agreed to resume the bilateral agriculture working group and promote business cooperation in industrial machinery, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, mining, ICT and other sectors.

· Education and Cultural Ties: The leaders encouraged university partnerships, student and faculty exchanges, collaborative research, tourism, sports and youth exchanges.

· Counter-Terrorism and Security: Both sides condemned terrorism, including the Pahalgam attack of 22 April 2025, and agreed to establish a dialogue on counter-terrorism.

· United Nations and Global Issues: Poland reaffirmed support for India's permanent membership in a reformed UN Security Council and its candidature for a non-permanent seat for 2028–29. Both countries also discussed the Ukraine war, climate change and Indo-Pacific cooperation.

· New Agreements and Initiatives: Both sides are working towards agreements on the protection and exchange of classified information, critical minerals, and cooperation in culture, science and higher education.

[ABS News Service/23.10.2026]

India-Poland Joint Statement

At the invitation of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, H.E. Mr. Donald Tusk, paid an official visit to India from 21-23 October 2026. Prime Minister Tusk was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including around 100 leading CEOs and industry representatives.

Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Tusk held comprehensive discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.

The Prime Ministers recalled Prime Minister Modi’s landmark visit to Poland in August 2024, when the bilateral relationship was elevated to a Strategic Partnership and the India-Poland Action Plan for 2024-2028 was adopted. They endorsed the mid-term review of the Action Plan done by the Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and the Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski in Warsaw in September 2026.

The Prime Ministers noted that the present visit imparts fresh momentum to the Strategic Partnership and reaffirmed their determination to translate this partnership into concrete, time-bound and mutually beneficial outcomes.

The Leaders agreed to intensify high-level political exchanges and institutional dialogue, and encouraged closer engagement between their Parliaments, state and regional authorities, think tanks and policy institutions.

The Prime Ministers underlined the importance of the historic India-EU Summit on 27 January 2026 in New Delhi, the Towards 2030: A Joint India-European Union Comprehensive Strategic Agenda, the conclusion of the EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the Comprehensive Framework of Cooperation on Mobility. On the FTA, they called for its early signing and ratification as well as timely implementation, with a view to unlocking new opportunities for trade and investment, diversifying and strengthening critical value chains, and opening new markets.

Trade, Economic Cooperation and Investment

Prime Minister of India congratulated Poland on crossing the USD 1 trillion GDP mark and noted the resilience and dynamism of the Polish economy. Poland appreciated India’s record as the fastest growing big economy and its impressive trajectory to become a USD 10 trillion economy in the coming years. The Leaders recognised the complementary strengths of the two economies and the opportunities arising from India’s and Poland’s respective growth paths.

The Leaders set the target of doubling bilateral trade by 2030. Prime Minister of India invited Polish companies to expand their investments and operations in India and to benefit from India’s large market, skilled workforce and growing manufacturing and innovation ecosystem. Prime Minister Tusk appreciated Indian investment in Poland and highlighted Poland’s strength as a gateway for Indian businesses seeking to expand their presence in Central and Eastern Europe and the wider European market.

Leaders agreed to expand cooperation in agriculture by resuming the activities of the bilateral working group, aimed at intensifying bilateral trade and cooperation.

The Leaders welcomed the India-Poland Business Forum held during the visit with the presence of leading CEOs and industry representatives from both countries. They encouraged businesses to explore partnerships in sectors including industrial machinery, defence, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, mining and critical minerals, energy, ICT and other areas of mutual interest.

The Leaders underscored the importance of resilient and diversified supply chains, promotion of medium and small enterprises, innovation-led growth and digital transformation. They recognised the transformative role of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in economic growth, productivity and public service delivery. Acknowledging the India-EU Comprehensive Strategic Agenda, both leaders also agreed to undertake collaborative research on AI, semiconductors and Quantum technologies as well as to enhance Startup partnerships. They agreed to encourage closer cooperation between enterprises, research institutions and innovation ecosystems in both countries.

Defence and Security Cooperation

The Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening defence and security cooperation. They welcomed the outcomes of the 8th meeting of the Joint Working Group on Defence, held in Warsaw in September 2026, and agreed to maintain regular exchanges between the defence establishments of both countries.

The Leaders welcomed growing interaction between Indian and Polish defence industries and encouraged them to identify commercially viable areas of cooperation. A Defence Industry Dialogue was proposed by the leaders to encourage the development of a forward-looking framework for defence industrial cooperation, including greater business-to-business engagement and, where mutually agreed, partnerships in technology, co-development, co-production and other forms of industrial collaboration.

Both leaders welcomed the signing of the India-EU Security and Defence Partnership in January 2026 and underlined the importance of strengthening India-Poland cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, cybersecurity and defence innovation, including through business and other platforms, contributing to enhanced technological resilience and closer India-EU security and defence cooperation.

Both sides underlined the importance of having an Agreement on Mutual Protection and Exchange of Classified Information and expressed their expectation that it would be signed soon.

Space Cooperation / New technologies

The Leaders recognised cooperation in the space sector as a key element of the Strategic Partnership and encouraged stronger institutional and industry-level engagement, welcoming efforts to identify concrete areas of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Both Leaders highlighted opportunities of close cooperation on semiconductors.

The Prime Ministers emphasised the potential for collaboration in circular economy and recovery industry, particularly focusing on recycling of batteries and refining of rare earth minerals.

They underlined opportunities for closer cooperation in geology, mining and critical minerals sector. An MoU in this regard is under negotiation.

Connectivity, maritime and shipping

The Leaders welcomed the prospect of exploring the opportunities for enhancing direct flights on the routes between Poland and India. They encouraged the civil aviation/ aeronautical authorities to hold direct talks as a symbol of strengthening bilateral relations.

Both sides highlighted the prospect of cooperation in the shipping industry as well as in maritime security.

The Leaders recognised the importance of cooperation between ports in advancing a secure, resilient, and integrated network that diversifies global supply chains, shortens transit times, and safeguards critical infrastructure against geopolitical disruptions. The two leaders noted the importance of improving connectivity, including through the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) initiative.

The Prime Ministers agreed on developing scientific cooperation in polar affairs.

Science, Education and Academic Cooperation

The Leaders noted Poland’s long tradition of scholarship in Indology and Sanskrit and welcomed the ICCR Chair of Indian Studies at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. They acknowledged the presence of Polish language teachers at Indian universities. They also noted the extensive network of cooperation between Indian and Polish higher education institutions and encouraged deeper institutional partnerships, student and faculty exchanges, and called for more collaborative research.

Culture and People-to-People Ties

The Leaders reaffirmed that strong people-to-people ties are an important pillar of the Strategic Partnership. They welcomed growing exchanges between the two peoples, including among professionals and tourists and agreed to encourage cultural cooperation, including sports, youth exchanges and tourism. An agreement on cooperation in the fields of culture, science and higher education will be concluded soon. A Cooperation agreement between the National Archives of India and General Director of the State Archives of the Republic of Poland was concluded and would be signed soon.

Both sides acknowledged that the memorial of the Maharaja Jamsaheb (popularly known as the Good Maharaja in Poland) and the Principality of Kolhapur in Warsaw represent a living bridge between the people of the two friendly countries and an evocative chapter of history, where India provided a home to thousands of Polish women and children during World War-II. Both sides expressed satisfaction that two editions of the Jam Saheb Memorial Youth Exchange Programme had taken place, including most recently in October 2026.

Both sides recalled with appreciation the assistance provided by the Polish authorities to more than 2,000 Indian students stranded in Ukraine under Operation Ganga.

Multilateral Cooperation and Global Issues

The Leaders underlined the importance of multilateralism with the UN Charter at its core. Both sides agreed that the United Nations needs structural reforms, including through the expansion of the UN Security Council in both permanent and non-permanent categories in order to stay relevant, credible and effective. The Polish side expressed its support for India’s membership of a more inclusive, reformed and expanded UNSC, as well as reiterated its support for India’s candidature for a non-permanent seat in the UNSC for 2028-29.

The Leaders highlighted the role of the G20 as a key forum for international cooperation. They expressed their readiness to cooperate in the G20 tracks and workstreams in which the Republic of Poland participates or may be invited to participate.

The two leaders expressed their deepest concern over the war raging in Ukraine, including its terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences. They reiterated the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. They also noted the negative impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, especially for the Global South.

The two leaders unequivocally condemned terrorism and violent extremism leading to terrorism in all their forms and manifestations, irrespective of their motivations, including cross-border terrorism, and stressed that there can be no justification for terrorism on any grounds. They condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025. They called for strong and concerted action against terrorists and terrorist entities including those designated by the UNSC 1267 sanctions committee. Both sides also called upon all countries to continue to work towards eliminating terrorist safe havens and infrastructure as well as to disrupt terrorism financing networks. Both leaders called for the early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the United Nations. They agreed to have a dialogue on counter-terrorism.

The Leaders reaffirmed the importance of a free, open, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific and of respect for international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). They underscored the importance of freedom of navigation and the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law. India invited Poland to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).

Both Leaders welcomed the first Foreign Ministers' Meetings of India and the Visegrad Group (V4), comprising Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen cooperation through the V4+India format and to build a forward-looking partnership based on shared interests and complementarities.

The Leaders underscored the need for accelerated global action on climate change, and reaffirmed their support for the UNFCCC process and the Paris Agreement. They recognised the growing risks posed by extreme weather events, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss and encouraged closer bilateral cooperation in clean energy, sustainable technologies and climate-resilient development. They highlighted the need to increase the share of home-grown clean energy in national energy mixes to enhance energy security, protect the climate, and improve industrial competitiveness. India welcomed Poland’s announcement of joining the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). India invited Poland to join the International Solar Alliance and the Global Biofuels Alliance.

Prime Minister Tusk thanked Prime Minister Modi for the warm hospitality extended to him and his delegation. The Leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to further deepen and diversify the India-Poland Strategic Partnership and to ensure effective implementation of the Action Plan (2024-2028) through regular high-level engagement and strengthened institutional cooperation.

Prime Minister Tusk also extended an invitation to Prime Minister Modi to visit Poland.