Modi to visit Poland on August 21; first trip by an Indian Prime Minister after Morarji Desai in 1979

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Poland on August 21, according to reports. This will be the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to the central European country since Morarji Desai’s trip in 1979. 

Modi's one-day visit to Poland, scheduled for August 21, will be en route to his trip to Ukraine, the reports said. Former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi had visited the country before Desai.

Modi will be in Warsaw and will hold bilateral talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, according to a report in the Print quoting sources. The focus of PM Modi's trip would be on defence and strategic alignment.

The report said that in addition to the bilateral meeting, the Prime Minister will visit the memorials of the Maharajas of Jamnagar and Kolhapur, who provided shelter to thousands of Polish refugees during the Second World War.

India-Poland Ties

India and Poland share a long-standing friendly relationship, marked by high- level political contacts and vibrant economic engagement, according to Embassy of India in Poland website. The diplomatic relations were established in 1954, leading to the opening of the Indian Embassy in Warsaw in 1957. During the Communist era, bilateral relations were close and cordial, with regular high-level visits, including the one by the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955.

Earlier this year, India appointed a Defence Attache to Poland.

Modi to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy

After Poland, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ukraine on August 23. PM Modi will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during the visit.

This would be the Prime Minister's first visit to Ukraine since its war with Russia. It comes days after PM Modi visited Russia and met President Vladimir Putin during a two-day visit to Moscow on July 8-9, 2024. PM Modi was invited by Putin for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.

Zelenskyy had sharply reacted to PM Modi's Russia visit and meeting with Putin. In a post on X Zelenskyy referred to Russia's attack on that day, that killed at least 37 people, including three children, after a missile strike on a children's hospital in Kyiv.

Prime Minister Modi was conferred with Russia's highest civilian honour, the Order of St Andrew the Apostle award by Putin for exceptional services in promoting bilateral ties between the two countries. Putin said the award is a 'testimony to Russia's sincere gratitude' for Modi's ‘significant contribution’ to strengthening ties between the two nations.