The Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and the Poland Institute of International Affairs (PISM) held their ninth Strategic Dialogue on 8 November 2023 in Warsaw. A four-member delegation led by Director General, ICWA Amb. Vijay Thakur Singh participated in the Dialogue. Other members of the delegation included Prof. Ummu Salma Bava-Professor, JNU; Dr. Stuti Banerjee- SRF, ICWA; Dr. Himani Pant-RF, ICWA. The Dialogue focused on security challenges for Europe, the evolving situation in the Indo- Pacific as well as India-Poland bilateral relations in the backdrop of the ongoing global and regional geopolitical flux.
In the inaugural session, remarks were made by Amb. Vijay Thakur Singh, DG, ICWA and Mr. Sławomir Dębski, Director, PISM. Amb. Singh observed that the world today is fractured and divided. There are multiple flashpoints such as the Ukraine and Israel-Gaza crises due to which geopolitical fissures have deepened further. She reflected upon India’s balanced approach to these crises which has been guided by strategic autonomy. She also shared an optimistic outlook for India-Poland relations in coming years. Mr. Dębski underlined the importance of ICWA-PISM Dialogue in enhancing the understanding of Indian and Polish perspectives on global and regional issues as well as in strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.
H.E. Wojciech Gerwel, Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland and H.E. Nagma Mohamed Mallick, Ambassador of India to Poland also participated in the inaugural session and made keynote remarks. H.E. Gerwel observed that India has an important role to play in a rapidly changing world. He appreciated India’s steady economic growth and also pointed that Poland has been one of the fastest growing countries in Europe in the last 30 years. He opined that India and Poland could work together to nurture technical expertise. H.E Mallick gave an overview of India-Poland ties and highlighted that both countries are democracies with shared values. While appreciating Poland’s steady growth in the last three decades, she pointed that India too has grown during this period and is recognized for its strengths in Fintech, IT, pharmaceuticals, among others. She highlighted that India is both a major investment destination as well as a source of Foreign Direct Investment.
The first session of the Dialogue focused on “Security Challenges for Europe: Perspectives from India and Poland”. The panel was chaired by Dr. Łukasz Kulesa, Deputy Head of Research Office, PISM. Speakers in the session included Dr. Wojciech Lorenz, Head of Security Programme, PISM and Prof. Ummu Salma Bava, Professor at the Centre for European Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. It was noted that the crisis in Ukraine has raised major questions for the European security architecture. At the same time, the crisis has also led to global implications by impacting supply chain networks. The need to follow dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the crisis was emphasized.
The second session focused on the “Evolving Security Situation in the Indo-Pacific”. It was chaired by Amb. Vijay Thakur Singh, DG, ICWA. Speakers included Mr. Marcin Terlikowski, Deputy Head of Research Office, PISM and Dr. Stuti Banerjee, Senior Research Fellow, ICWA. Participants highlighted India’s inclusive vision of the Indo-Pacific region and a rules based maritime order. The tensions in the region on account of maritime disputes and US-China contestations were discussed in this session.
The third session focused on “India-Poland Bilateral Relations”. It was chaired by Damian Wnukowski, Head of Asia-Pacific Programme, PISM. Speakers in the session included Mr. Patryk Kugiel, Senior Analyst, PISM and Dr. Himani Pant-Research Fellow, ICWA. It was observed that in the India-Poland bilateral relations, there is untapped potential between the two growing economies which needs to be nurtured, including through strengthening defence ties and cooperation on migration and mobility issues.
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