External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday officially launched direct flight services between Warsaw and New Delhi during his two-day visit to the Central European country.
The External Affairs Minister, who reached the Polish capital on August 28, was received by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. The two sides quickly engaged over discussions to benefits mutual cooperation between India and Poland.
Jaishankar's visit took place in the backdrop of the 65th anniversary of establishing bilateral relations between Poland and India and preceded the official launch of the direct flight connection between Warsaw and New Delhi operated by LOT Polish Airlines, scheduled for September 2019, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
Earlier today, Jaishankar met his Polish counterpart Jacek Czaputowicz and discussed the long-lasting friendship of the two strong democracies.
Czaputowicz welcomed Jaishankar as the first Indian External Affairs Minister paying a visit to Poland in a long span of time. "He emphasised India's role as a prominent regional power, an active and significant player in G20 and in the United Nations, as well as Poland's key partner in South Asia," the statement said.
The Polish Foreign Minister also congratulated Jaishankar on the 72nd Anniversary of India's independence and expressed sincere condolences on the recent demise of former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, it added.
Jaishankar, on his part, emphasised Poland's role as an important member of the European Union and a leader of Central and Eastern Europe. "With that in mind, he conveyed India's readiness to engage more actively in the region of Central Europe, which should have a positive impact on the overall EU-India cooperation. He also expressed India's desire to engage with Poland in the Visegrad format," the statement read.
During the meeting, the two sides further discussed a wide range of issues concerning bilateral political cooperation, as well as in the field of economy, education and culture.
"They agreed that the exchange of the highest level visits would give a strong impetus to bilateral cooperation where considerable potential still remained untapped and underlined their desire for enhancing the bilateral exchange of visits. The Polish side welcomed the invitation to President Andrzej Duda extended by the President of the Republic of India, Ram Nath Kovind," the statement said.
The two sides further agreed on the importance of maintaining peace and security in various regions and discussed the Indo-Pacific and West Asia.
On the occasion, Czaputowicz expressed the commitment of Poland to support global efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms and mfestations, particularly cross-border terrorism, as well to tackle the most urgent security problems, including Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) proliferation, maritime and aviation security, cybersecurity, energy security, humtarian issues, refugees and human rights. Jaishankar too welcomed Poland's clear-cut stance on combating terrorism.
The Polish Foreign Minister, in addition, also conveyed the outcomes of the Warsaw Ministerial held in February 2019, to the External Affairs Minister.
The Ministers reiterated the importance of an effective multilateral system and rules-based world order as key factors in maintaining global stability and tackling global challenges.
The Polish side appreciated India's support for the candidature of Poland for a non-permanent seat for the years 2018-2019 and expressed support for India's candidature for a non-permanent seat for the years 2021-22, the statement said.
Referring to Council conclusions on the EU Strategy on India of December 10, 2018, Czaputowicz further reiterated the importance of Strategic Partnership between the European Union and India to further develop bilateral cooperation in every respect. He also affirmed Poland's commitment to actively shape the EU-India agenda to the benefit of both parties. Jaishankar appreciated Poland's important role as an EU partner.
Meanwhile, the External Affairs Minister also called on Polish Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Glinski earlier today.
( With inputs from ANI )