Poland's new foreign minister, in his first official statement, has called for raising the profile of his country in India and India's in his to boost bilateral trade.
"With the coming of new governments both in Poland and India, both countries should raise their respective profiles in each other's country. The time has come for both the democratic states to expand bilateral trade to $4 billion in the next two to three years from the present figure of $2 billion," said Grzegorz Schetyna, the newly appointed foreign minister of the Polish government headed by Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz.
Schetyna said this when he inaugurated a conference,"India and Poland Towards Efficient Model of Economic Diplomacy" Thursday in the Polish parliament. This was his first official statement after taking the oath as foreign minister three days ago.
"We are ready to offer our earnest cooperation to India in every field, be it defence,commerce or cultural," Schetyna stated.
"India has emerged a great nation in the 21st century and the balance of power is shifting to Asia and Pacific region. For us, India is a gateway to Asia. Together we can make new bridges of understanding and cooperation.Our friendship has been traditional and historical. We have not seen any problem in the past nor we see in the present times."
Stating that Poland and India were two good democracies, he said market economy should have no limit in increasing bilateral cooperation and that "sky is the limit".
With the coming of (Indian Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, we see a great future for India. We feel India has become a very business-friendly country and we can expand our trade and commerce significantly," Schetyna elaborated.
The conference was organised jointly by the Committee of Foreign Relations of the Polish parliament and the Association of Polish-Asia Relations. Incidentally, Schetyna was head of this committee till recently.
From the Indian side, the Indo-Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IPCCI), headed by its president J.J. Singh, emphasised on the need for liberalisation of Polish visas for Indian businessmen and tourists.
"Time has come that we should start a direct flight from Delhi to Warsaw," observed Singh.
"IPCCI has become an important reference mark for Indian and Polish businessmen. This body is very sound in promoting business between the two countries. We will send a big delegation for the 7th Vibrant Gujarat Economic Forum in coming January," said Katarzyna Kasperczyk, the under secretary of state in the Polish foreign ministry during the deliberations.
Krzystof Solek, president of Film Polska, who recently collaborated with the filming of the climax scenes of Salman Khan-starrer "Kick", said: "The mega success of 'Kick' in India and abroad has given Poland a new profile. Now, other producers are also coming to shoot in Poland. We have the beautiful locales and well-trained technicians. A Polish cinematographer, Artur Zurawski, has worked for 'Mardani', produced by Yashraj Films. His work has been appreciated and he is getting new offers to work in Bollywood films."
(Surinder Bhutani can be contacted at suren84ind@gmail.com)
