Polish PM Donald Tusk to visit India from Oct 21 to 23, hold talks with PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will visit India from October 21 to 23 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the two leaders set to review bilateral ties and discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said on Monday. Tusk will be accompanied by Andrzej Domański, Poland's minister of finance and economy, along with a large business delegation, according to an official statement issued by the government.

During the visit, Tusk will hold bilateral talks with PM Modi in New Delhi on October 22. The discussions will cover the full range of India-Poland relations, which were elevated to a Strategic Partnership during PM Modi's visit to Poland in August 2024. The two leaders will also exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest, the MEA said.

Tusk will also travel to Bengaluru, where he is scheduled to meet business stakeholders, including representatives from the information technology and space sectors. An India-Poland Business Forum will be held in New Delhi on October 22 and in Bengaluru on October 23.

The visit is expected to advance cooperation across several areas, including trade and investment, defence, emerging technologies, renewable energy, education, culture and people-to-people ties. "The visit will provide the opportunity to further strengthen the India-Poland Strategic Partnership and advance cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including trade and investment, defence, emerging technologies, renewable energy, education, culture and people-to-people ties," the MEA said in its statement. The visit will also provide an opportunity to deepen the strategic partnership between India and the European Union, it added.

This will be Tusk's second visit to India in his capacity as Poland's prime minister. His first visit in the role took place in 2010, during his earlier tenure. He also visited New Delhi in 2017 for the India-EU Summit as president of the European Council. The upcoming visit follows the elevation of India-Poland relations to a Strategic Partnership in August 2024, when PM Modi travelled to Warsaw. The visit marked the first trip by an Indian prime minister to Poland in 45 years. During that visit, the two countries adopted a comprehensive five-year action plan covering areas such as trade and investment, defence, energy, green technologies, agriculture and infrastructure.

Ahead of Tusk's visit, Polish finance and economy minister Andrzej Domański outlined plans to expand trade and defence cooperation with India. Speaking to news agency ANI on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers' Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, earlier this month, Domański said Poland wanted to strengthen industrial partnerships and increase defence exports to India. "We want to develop a strong defence industry. To do this, we would certainly like to maintain good trade relations in defence products with trusted partners like India. Therefore, it is no surprise that we would also like to increase the export of our defence products to India. During the visit, we will bring Polish defence companies to India," Domański said.

The minister's remarks came after his meeting with Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal. The upcoming visit will provide an opportunity for the two countries to discuss cooperation in defence and other strategic sectors alongside their existing economic and diplomatic engagement.