NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his maiden visits to Poland and Ukraine later this week. He will be in Poland on August 21-22 and in Ukraine on August 23 which is the Ukrainian National Day.
“This will be the first visit of any Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine. PM Modi will hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy which will focus on bilateral and multilateral cooperation. A number of documents will be signed between the two leaders,” said a statement from President Zelenskyy’s office.
Talks are likely to focus on the ongoing conflict and its resolution through dialogue and diplomacy.
“You may recall that PM Modi has reiterated that this is not an era for war and that resolutions cannot be found on the battlefield,” said Tanmaya Lal, Secretary West, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday.
Bilateral trade between India and Ukraine was over $3 billion before the outbreak of COVID-19. India is now helping to reconstruct the war-torn country.
PM Modi had last met President Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy in June and discussed the expansion of bilateral ties. The two leaders also spoke a number of times over the phone since the outbreak of the conflict on February 24, 2022.
Meanwhile, this year marks 70 years of diplomatic relations between India and Poland. The last Indian PM to visit Poland was Morarji Desai 45 years ago. PM Modi will visit Poland at the invitation of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
“Talks will focus on defence relations and trade. There are nearly 25000 Indians living in Poland out of which 5000 are students,” said Lal.
PM Tusk has met PM Modi several times during his tenure as European Council President.
Bilateral trade between India and Poland was around $5.7 billion in 2023-24. Poland is India’s largest trading partner and investment partner in Central and Eastern Europe. Investments from India to Poland are valued at $3 billion while those of Polish companies is $685 million.
Poland offers tremendous opportunities for bilateral collaborations in infrastructure, mining, energy, pharmaceuticals and agro and food processing.