New Delhi: India and Poland will work together on defence, space and nuclear energy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday after talks with visiting Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at Hyderabad House, inviting Polish firms to co-develop and co-produce technology in these sectors.
"We have agreed to boost cooperation in areas of defence, space and nuclear energy," Modi said at a joint press meet, adding that the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement had widened the scope for the two countries to work together.
Tusk, on his first visit to India as Polish premier since 2010, said the two sides had "no conflict of interest" and that he was "proud" to call Modi his friend. Pitching Poland's defence industry, he said, "Our drones were very useful."
The two leaders reviewed a partnership elevated to a Strategic Partnership during Modi's 2024 visit to Warsaw. Bilateral trade stands at about $6 billion, making Poland India's largest trading partner in central Europe, and both sides are looking to double it. Tusk is accompanied by Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domanski and a large business delegation, with an India-Poland Business Forum in Delhi and another in Bengaluru, where he will meet IT and space firms on Friday.
Modi recalled an older link, the shelter Indian royal families in Jamnagar and Kolhapur gave to thousands of Polish children and families during the Second World War. "The friendship between India and Poland is not based merely on diplomatic relations, but on a shared heritage of humanity and empathy," he said.
On the wars in Ukraine and West Asia, Modi said India "will continue to support every meaningful effort towards peace", and pressed for reform of global institutions. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar called on Tusk earlier in the day.