"We want Poland to be a gateway to Europe for companies from India, and India to be a gateway for companies from Poland to Asia," Tusk said at a Polish-Indian business forum in New Delhi.
Tusk said Poland and India could cooperate in areas including defence, energy, agriculture, mining, food production, pharmaceuticals, dual-use technologies, digitisation and the space sector.
He said Russia’s war in Ukraine and fragile supply chains for energy, raw materials and technology meant Poland needed resilient and diversified relationships with a range of countries, making India an especially important partner.
Poland offers a developed industrial base, skilled workers and access to the European Union’s single market, Tusk said.
He also highlighted the country’s location at the centre of European transportation routes and its logistics infrastructure.
India, meanwhile, brings "scale, dynamism, talent and great production potential," he said, as cited by Polish state news agency PAP.
Tusk said Polish companies were interested in working with Indian partners and called for closer ties between Polish and Indian universities and researchers.
Earlier on Thursday, after meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tusk said he would personally seek ways to promote trade ties between Polish and Indian companies.
Modi said bilateral cooperation had gained momentum since the countries elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership in 2024.
Tusk said the two countries had ambitious plans beyond traditional industries such as mining, coal gasification and shipbuilding, including cooperation on space technology, digitisation, satellites and modern defence industries.
He also said Poland and India needed to reduce their dependence, where possible, on dominant suppliers of strategic raw materials, critical minerals and technologies.
Tusk also referred to the historical ties between the two countries, including India's sheltering of Polish refugees and children during World War II under Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji, the ruler of Nawanagar who is known in Poland as the Good Maharaja.
He also praised Poland's assistance to Indian students in Ukraine after Russia's invasion.
Tusk said he had told Modi about the effort with pride, describing it as an example of friendship, trust and solidarity.
Tusk said Poland had ambitions to play a leading role in Europe, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, and welcomed Modi's view that Poland could serve as a gateway for India to cooperate with Europe.
He said he would personally support contacts and cooperation between Polish and Indian companies and announced that the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, March 30, would be observed annually as Polish-Indian Friendship Day.
Modi said the strategic partnership had accelerated bilateral cooperation over the past two years.
He said the economic strength of both countries created broad opportunities for cooperation that could be expanded by a free trade agreement.
Modi also welcomed Tusk's visit with a large business delegation and said the countries should work to create trusted supply chains and achieve their goal of doubling bilateral trade.
India and Poland will pursue further partnerships in critical minerals, raw materials and coal gasification, as well as cybersecurity, Modi said.
"Today we agreed to deepen our ties in the fields of defence, space and energy," Modi said at a joint news conference with Tusk.
"In all these strategic sectors, we invite Polish companies to engage in co-development and co-production with India. We will also forge new partnerships, leveraging Poland's expertise in critical minerals and coal gasification," he added, as cited by India's The Tribune newspaper.
He also announced the establishment of an India-Poland Startup Bridge and technology hackathons for young people from both countries to strengthen collaboration in emerging technologies, The Tribune reported.
"Our relationship in the domains of IT and cybersecurity is already robust, with many Indian IT companies operating in Poland. Building upon this cooperation, we agreed to establish the India-Poland Startup Bridge. We will also organise technology hackathons for the youth of both our countries," Modi said, according to The Tribune.
Referring to the war in Ukraine, Modi said both countries believed in the rule of law and democracy and that India would support efforts to establish peace, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
Tusk began his visit on Thursday with a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and a visit to Mahatma Gandhi’s mausoleum in New Delhi.
He was scheduled to travel to Bengaluru later on Thursday with business representatives and officials from the Polish Space Agency (POLSA) and Polish space and technology companies.
On Friday, he is due to meet with officials in the southwestern Indian state of Karnataka and take part in a Polish-Indian business seminar focused on information and communications technology and the aerospace industry.
(gs)
Source: IAR/PAP, tribuneindia.com