Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Poland-Ukraine this week, Chargé d’affaires of Poland to India Sebastian Dom?alski said that PM’s visit to the two countries during the conflict is “very significant” as it will send a powerful message to the global community that India stands out for peace, dialogue and negotiations.
Speaking to ANI news agency on Monday, Dom?alski said, “It is very significant. We are happy that PM Modi is combining his visit to Poland with a visit to Ukraine…This visit will send a powerful message to the global community that India stands out for peace, dialogue and negotiations. Diplomatic efforts are being made to end the conflict…We hope for a peaceful resolution of war…”
He said India is a global rising power and it has a lot of political heft.
“Being the most populous democracy, India is the voice of the world…,” added Dom?alski.
Dom?alski said he is personally very happy about PM Modi’s visit as this will be the first by any Indian prime minister to Poland since 1979.
“…This is a very significant visit of PM Modi and we are celebrating 70 years of India-Poland diplomatic relations…We will be looking forward to finding new avenues of cooperation…,” said the Chargé d’affaires of Poland.
He said both the countries are looking at three priority areas.
“Technology will be a very important priority area. Both countries are looking forward to upgrading their economies…Poland is one of the fastest-growing economies in the European Union…Security will also be high on the agenda, given the situation in Europe and the global tensions that we are observing…The defence will also be discussed,” said Dom?alski.
Talking about the India-Poland trade relationship, Dom?alski said the focus on economic cooperation will be very important and so will be bringing India and Poland together.
”…There is a significant increase in interest in the investment in Poland. Two big investments have been announced in Lithium iron batteries and optic fibres…Polish companies are also increasingly interested in investing in India…,” said Dom?alski.
On Poland’s support for India’s UNSC permanent seat, he said UNSC reform is high on Poland’s agenda and it’s quite surprising that India is not a part of UNSC, not a permanent member of UNSC.
“We need to reform UNSC…,” he added.
Talking about the people-to-people relations between the two countries, he said, “We have several stories and chapters in our history which show how close people-to-people relations were. The story of ‘good Maharaja’ Jam Sahib is one of them. This story will be highlighted by PM Modi as he is from Gujarat…He underlined that Maharaja Jam Sahib planted seeds for Indo-Polish cooperation. There is a square and school named after Maharaja Jam Sahib in Poland…People remember ‘good Maharaja’ in Poland….”
Appreciating Indian diaspora’s contributions to the Polish community, he said the people there are looking forward to meeting PM Modi.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that PM Modi will be visiting Poland on 21-22 August.
“This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Poland in the past 45 years,” the MEA said in a statement.
“Thereafter, Prime Minister will travel to Ukraine. This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine after establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992,” the statement added.
PM Modi’s visit to Russia in July had not gone down well with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who had called it a blow to peace efforts that fell on the same day as a deadly Russian missile strike.
“It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day,” Zelenskyy said in a post on the social-media site X.
With inputs from agencies
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