Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk held wide-ranging bilateral talks in New Delhi on Thursday, agreeing to deepen cooperation in defence, space and nuclear energy and inviting Polish companies to co-develop and co-produce with India in these strategic sectors.

Addressing a joint press conference with Mr. Tusk at Hyderabad House, Mr. Modi said the two leaders had reached an agreement to expand the partnership across the three sectors. "Today, we have reached an agreement to deepen relations in defence, space, and nuclear energy. We invite companies from Poland to engage in co-development and co-production with India in all these strategic sectors," he said.

The talks marked the first visit to India by a Polish Prime Minister in 16 years — none has visited since 2010. Mr. Tusk arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday at Mr. Modi's invitation, accompanied by Poland's Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domanski and a large business delegation. His three-day visit takes him to Bengaluru on Friday for meetings with leaders from India's information technology and space sectors.

A strategic partnership with momentum

The two countries elevated their relationship to a Strategic Partnership during Mr. Modi's visit to Warsaw in August 2024. "Building on this strong foundation, our partnership has gained new momentum over the past two years," Mr. Modi said.

Economic ties took centre stage. Mr. Modi said India and Poland would work together to build trusted global supply chains and meet their shared bilateral trade goal for 2030. Annual trade between the two countries stands at around $6 billion, and officials on both sides have said they want it to roughly double. He also congratulated Mr. Tusk on Poland's economy crossing the $1 trillion milestone, noting that India had grown 7.8 per cent in the last quarter.

The Prime Minister said the India–European Union free trade agreement had "broadened opportunities" for the India–Poland partnership, adding that in a world going through uncertainty and change, the two countries' growth, technology and innovation made them important centres of stability.

'Beacon of hope'

For his part, Mr. Tusk described India as a "beacon of hope" amid global uncertainty and praised Mr. Modi's role on the world stage. "Somebody such as you, Prime Minister, of such a powerful country such as India is a beacon of hope for all of us," he said, adding that he was proud to call Mr. Modi his friend.

He said the two countries shared values such as non-violence and had "no conflicts of interest" dividing them, and drew a parallel between Poland's Solidarity movement and India's tradition of non-violence.

Mr. Modi recalled the historical bonds between the two countries, noting that during the Second World War the royal families of Jamnagar and Kolhapur had sheltered thousands of Polish children and families in India. The two leaders witnessed the exchange of key memoranda of understanding before the press conference, and an India–Poland Business Forum held in New Delhi on Thursday brought together companies from both countries to explore investment opportunities.