Warsaw, Sep 4 — Highlighting ongoing wars, challenges of food, fuel and fertiliser availability faced by the world currently, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Friday said that India and Poland can cooperate to shape the direction of many important global debates.
Addressing media jointly with Polish Deputy Prime Minister Radoslaw Sikorski following their talks in Warsaw, EAM Jaishankar said that they discussed some major global and regional issues, including the conflict in Ukraine. He said that efforts must be made to promote dialogue and diplomacy to bring an end to the conflict.
"The Deputy Prime Minister and I also understandably discussed some major global and regional issues. Notable among them was the war in Ukraine now in its fifth year. I think most of you would be aware that I myself have just come from Kyiv. India believes that endless wars must give way to an end to war. These are wars without winners. Every additional day means more deaths, more destruction, more loss to the parties themselves and more cost to the rest of the world," said EAM Jaishankar.
"This concern was voiced publicly by Prime Minister Modi recently. Our efforts must therefore focus on promoting dialogue and diplomacy. We must each do what we can in whichever way we believe will be most effective and support the efforts of others to bring this conflict to an end. This is India's strong conviction and we are acting on it," he added.
EAM Jaishankar said that he and Sikorski discussed the situation in West Asia and the developments in the Indo-Pacific. He described his talks with the Polish counterpart as "productive" from all angles.
"We also discussed today the ongoing conflict in the Gulf, the situation in West Asia, Middle East and developments in the Indo-Pacific. The world is today grappling not only multiple wars but also serious challenges of food, fuel and fertiliser availability. Supply chain resilience is an independent but added concern. As political democracies, market economies and open societies, India and Poland can cooperate to shape the direction of many important global debates. Our tradition of working closely in the United Nations and multilateral forums is an important expression of that convergence," he said.
EAM Jaishankar mentioned that the world is moving towards multipolarity and the growing ties between India and the European Union is a notable part of the global restructuring.
"The world is moving towards increasing multipolarity as we focus on de-risking and diversifying. India considers the European Union to be an important..and our growing relationship is a notable part of the global restructuring that is underway. we are confident that Poland's voice and Poland's influence within the EU will encourage this trend."
EAM Jaishankar said that India and Poland share a long-standing cordial relationship that was elevated to Strategic Partnership in 2024. He noted that the closeness between the two nations is reflected in regular meetings of the political leadership and the institutional mechanisms in various sectors.
"Today, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and I, we reviewed the Action Plan that was agreed upon when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Poland two years ago. The report card we got was a very solid one, indicating an uptick in trade and investments, deeper defence collaboration, expansion in traditional areas like mining and energy as well as new possibilities emerging in space, digital, AI and innovation."
"Where mechanisms are concerned, Foreign Office Consultations were held recently. Our Joint Commission had met and as you heard from the Deputy Prime Minister, the defence working group...We are working on agreements in many other domains including cyber security, space, clean coal, classified information, critical minerals and I am confident that they will add both texture and substance to our ties," he added.