Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 21: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk begins a three-day India visit today, eyeing deeper trade ties. Defence, space and AI cooperation feature, with a $10 billion trade ambition in view.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrives in India on October 21 for a three-day visit. His aim is to turn the 2024 strategic partnership into concrete cooperation. Former envoy to Poland Anil Wadhwa outlined the stakes in The Economic Times.
Tusk is due to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on October 22. Business programmes are planned in New Delhi and Bengaluru. The visit comes as Europe rethinks its security and economic partnerships.
Poland is now central and eastern Europe’s largest economy. It sits on NATO’s eastern flank and backs Ukraine. Warsaw wants new markets and secure supply chains, Wadhwa wrote. For New Delhi, Poland offers a partner with weight inside the European Union. It also widens India’s European ties beyond traditional western capitals. The two need not agree on Russia or Ukraine, Wadhwa noted. Frank talks, including on the Indo-Pacific, could clarify expectations.
Bilateral trade reached $6.36 billion in 2025, according to Indian official figures. India mainly ships pharmaceuticals, textiles, chemicals, engineering goods, vehicles and electrical machinery. Poland sends industrial equipment, chemicals, metals and specialised manufactures. Both sides have a stated ambition of $10 billion. That remains a goal, not an achieved figure.
Polish investment in India is estimated at about $600 million. Can-Pack makes metal packaging in Aurangabad. TZMO produces hygiene products in Dindigul, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Maflow supplies automotive components, while electric-bus maker Solaris works with JBM Auto. India hopes to draw more Polish capital into electric mobility, rail and clean energy.
Indian investment in Poland exceeds $3 billion. Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Wipro are prominent employers there.
The India-Poland Business Forum is scheduled in Bengaluru on October 23. It could link Polish engineering with Indian software and aerospace strengths. Poland’s largest space company, ICI, is expected to sign space surveillance agreements. These involve synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, which image Earth through cloud and darkness.
AGH University of Krakow is also expected to sign a memorandum. Its partner is the International Institute of Information Technology Bengaluru. The pact would cover skilling, start-up links and education in AI and quantum technologies.
Polish Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domański, accompanying Tusk, has flagged growing defence exports. These could include drones for the Indian Army, though no order is confirmed. Wadhwa urged joint manufacturing, maintenance and resilient supply chains through a defence industry working group. He also urged a trade roadmap, a market-access mechanism and dated progress reviews. These are his recommendations, not adopted government policy.
During the Second World War, Maharaja Digvijaysinhji of Nawanagar sheltered Polish children at Balachadi. Kolhapur also housed refugees. Formal ties followed in 1954, and about 30,000 Indians now live in Poland.
The test is whether goodwill becomes contracts, investment and lasting cooperation.
