Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached Poland’s capital Warsaw today in the first leg of his two-nation visit to Poland and Ukraine. This is the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Poland in the last 45 years. Before PM Modi, the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai had visited Poland in 1979 and he was the last Prime Minister to do so. Before him, Jawaharlal Nehru had visited Poland as Prime Minister in 1955 and Indira Gandhi in 1967. After a two-day visit to Poland, Prime Minister Modi will visit Ukraine on 23 August. Earlier, PM Modi had visited Russia and Austria in the second week of July.
Prime Minister Modi was given a grand welcome on his arrival at Warsaw airport. His visit is taking place when the two countries are completing 70 years of diplomatic relations. Diplomatic relations between India and Poland were established in 1954. During the two-day visit, PM Modi will hold bilateral talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk. According to government sources, the main focus of this visit of Prime Minister Modi will be on defense and strategic partnership.
Before leaving for Poland, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post, “I am going on an official visit to Poland and Ukraine. This visit is taking place on the occasion of completion of 70 years of diplomatic relations with Poland. Poland is our economic partner in Central Europe.”
Reports say that apart from the bilateral meeting, Prime Minister Modi will also visit the memorials of the Maharajas of Jamnagar and Kolhapur, which commemorate Indian help during the Second World War in the 1940s. In fact, during the Second World War, more than 6,000 Polish women and children found refuge in two princely states of India (Jamnagar and Kolhapur). Apart from this, the Prime Minister will also address the Indian community there. About 25,000 Indians live in Poland. Apart from these, he will also address selected Polish business leaders.