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Prime Minister’s visit to Poland & Ukraine
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Poland on 21-22 August 2024 at the invitation of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. It was the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Poland in the past 45 years. The visit has been historic and very successful; historic, since this was after 45 years that an Indian Prime Minister was visiting Poland and also this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
During the visit, extensive discussions were held between the leadership. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi also called on His Excellency President Duda earlier on that day. One of the main aspects of the visit has been that both the countries have decided to take their relationship to the level of strategic partnership. And in this context, a Joint Statement has been released and an Action Plan has been finalized. So, there have been multiple aspects or areas where the two countries have decided to cooperate even further. Some of the areas that are of focus in this relationship are, for example, economic sector. India is the fifth largest economy now and Poland is the sixth largest economy within the European Union. Poland is a very, very important partner for India in this region. Poland will also be holding the Presidency of the European Union Council next year; and the discussions provide a useful impetus for this partnership going forward.
Prime Minister had visited two Memorials on 22nd August. One was for the Memorial for the very, very special episode in our shared people-to-people contacts when he visited the Memorial for Jam Sahib of Navanagar. He also visited the Kolhapur Memorial.
There was a community event, where the Prime Minister met members of the Indian diaspora who welcomed him very enthusiastically and with great warmth.
Both sides agreed for the need for regular high-level contacts; strengthening the economic relations in a range of sectors ranging from agriculture, food processing, clean technology, connectivity, mining, renewable energy and AI and digital areas.
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PM Modi and President Zelenskyy reiterated upholding principles of international law
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi arrived in Kyiv on 23rd August. This is a landmark visit. It’s the first time that an Indian Prime Minister visited Ukraine since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992. The Prime Minister arrived by a special train from Poland, it took 20 hours to reach Ukrain. He met the Indian community. He then started his engagements with a visit to the multimedia exposition on children who have lost their lives in this conflict. He was accompanied to the Museum by President Zelenskyy. The Prime Minister placed a toy in the Museum in memory of the children. He thereafter went to the AV Fomin Botanical Gardens to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi.
He held official meeting with President Zelenskyy. This happens to be their fourth meeting. They had met initially in Glasgow in November of 2021, then in Hiroshima in May of 2023, and then most recently in Apulia in Italy in June of 2024. They’ve also had seven tele conversations.
In the discussion, a significant part of it was devoted to our bilateral relations. There was a discussion about trade, economic issues, defence, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, education. There were a whole lot of issues.
In the Joint Statement the Prime Minister reiterated the need for sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that will have broad acceptability and contribute towards early restoration of peace. He reiterated India’s willingness to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate an early return of peace.
The Prime Minister spoke about India’s position that it is not an era of war, that dialogue and diplomacy are key, the solution will not come out of the battlefield.
The Prime Minister and the President reiterated their readiness to further cooperation in upholding principles of international law, including the UN Charter, such as respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of States.