Transcript of Special Briefing by Secretary (West) on Prime Minister’s visit to Poland and Ukraine (August 19, 2024)

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:Good evening friends. Thank you for coming for this Special Briefing by Secretary (West), Shri Tanmaya Lal on the visit of the Prime Minister to Poland and Ukraine. Also on the dais, we have Additional Secretaries, Shri Charanjeet Singh and Shri Arun Kumar Sahu. Mr. Singh looks after Ukraine in the Ministry of External Affairs and Mr. Sahu looks after Poland. So we have two Additional Secretaries also on the dais. With that, may I request Secretary (West) to make his opening remarks. Sir over to you.

Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West):Thank you Randhir and good evening all of you. I will first start with information about the visit to Poland and then go on to the visit to Ukraine.

Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi will be undertaking an official visit to Poland this week on 21st and 22nd August. At the invitation of Prime Minister His Excellency Donald Tusk. This is a landmark visit as Prime Minister of India is visiting Poland after 45 years. The visit takes place as we also mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations between India and Poland. Prime Minister Modi had met Prime Minister Tusk on four occasions in the latter's earlier capacity as the President of the European Council. Prime Minister Modi had also held a telephonic conversation with President His Excellency Andrzej Duda in 2022. Prime Minister Tusk had visited India in 2010.

This upcoming visit builds upon a series of continuing high level exchanges between India and Poland which take place in various formats. During the first four months of this year alone, for example, there have been a couple of high level interactions. Our External Affairs Minister and Foreign Minister Sikorski had met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in February. And Poland's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Władysław Bartoszewski, had visited India the same month.

If we look at interactions in the recent years, then External Affairs Minister had visited Poland in 2019. And the then Foreign Minister of Poland, Zbigniew Rau, had visited India in 2022. The Chairperson of India-Poland Parliamentary Friendship Group, Ms. Kinga Gajewska, had visited India in 2021. There are also regular Foreign Office Consultations between India and Poland. And the 10th round of such Consultations was held in Warsaw in December 2022. The Indian Council for World Affairs, ICWA, and the Polish Institute for International Affairs conduct a regular Strategic Dialogue. And its ninth session was held in Warsaw last year.

If we look at the institutional mechanisms for economic cooperation, then there is a Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation, JCEC, which met in Warsaw in 2022 for its sixth session. And a big Indian business delegation had also visited Poland during that year. All these interactions provide a glimpse of the range and the scope of our engagement with Poland, which is an important partner for India in Central Europe. Poland has the sixth largest economy within the European Union. And Poland will hold the next Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Poland is currently the Chair for the Weisiger Group.

Our bilateral trade is substantial. And it's of the order of US$6 billion, which makes Poland India's largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe. Indian investments into Poland are estimated at around US$3 billion. And the Polish investments into India are around US$1 billion. A number of Indian companies have active business presence in Poland. And they are engaged in a range of sectors, from IT to pharmaceuticals to manufacturing to farm vehicles to electronics, steel, metals and chemicals. Nearly 30 Polish companies have business presence in India. And some of them have manufacturing units. And these relate to, for example, hygiene and sanitary products, cosmetics, metal packaging, waste to energy and mining. There are direct flights between India and Poland, which commenced in 2019. And this, in a way, is helping the economic and commercial linkages.

There is a large Indian community in Poland, estimated at around 25,000. This includes around 5,000 students. You may recall that the government and people of Poland had offered valuable assistance during the Operation Ganga for the evacuation of Indian students from Ukraine. More than 4,000 Indian students were evacuated via Poland during 2022.

One of the unique bonds between our countries relates to the time in 1940s, during World War II, when more than 6,000 Polish women and children found refuge in two princely states in India, Jamnagar and Kolhapur. As you may be aware, Jam Sahib of Navanagar had provided shelter to more than 1,000 Polish children, and others were offered refuge in Kolhapur. There are long-standing cultural ties between India and Poland, and Indology studies in Polish universities date back to the 19th century. There is respect and appreciation in Poland for Indian culture and spiritual ethos, including yoga and Ayurveda.

In Warsaw, Prime Minister Modi will be accorded a ceremonial welcome. In addition to the talks with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Prime Minister Modi will also call on President Andrzej Duda. Prime Minister Modi will also interact with members of the Indian community, select Polish business leaders and prominent Indologists. He will also visit memorials that commemorate the very special episodes of Jamnagar and Kolhapur in our shared history which I just spoke about.

This historic visit in this landmark year for India and Polish relations will provide an opportunity for our leaders to review the bilateral partnership and offer guidance on enhancing this cooperation in diverse areas and also discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest.

I will now come to the visit to Ukraine. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will undertake an official visit to Ukraine later this week on Friday, 23rd August at the invitation of President of Ukraine, His Excellency Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This also is a landmark and historic visit since this will be the first time that an Indian Prime Minister will be visiting Ukraine in more than 30 years, since the diplomatic relations were established between our countries. The visit will build upon the recent high-level interactions between the two leaders. As you know, Prime Minister Modi and President Zelenskyy had met only a couple of months ago in June this year in Apulia at the sidelines of the G7 Summit. They had also met last year in Hiroshima on the margins of the G7 Summit. They had earlier met in Glasgow on the sidelines of COP in 2021.

The two leaders have also had multiple telephone conversations during the last four years. There have been other recent regular high-level exchanges between India and Ukraine. Less than six months ago in March this year, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, His Excellency Dmytro Kuleba, had visited India when he held discussions with our External Affairs Minister. Last July, we had Foreign Office Consultations in Kyiv. And in April last year, the then first Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Her Excellency Emine Dzhaparova, had visited India. There have been other interactions as well in recent months. A Ukrainian business delegation had participated in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January this year. A consular dialogue in virtual format was also held this year. The Joint Working Group on Science and Technology held its most recent meeting in June last year.

The upcoming visit of Prime Minister Modi to Ukraine will provide an opportunity to hold discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral relations, ranging from economic and business linkages, agriculture, infrastructure, health and education, pharmaceuticals, defense, culture, and people-to-people ties. This landmark visit, of course, takes place against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which will also form part of discussions. As you are aware, India has consistently advocated for diplomacy and dialogue to reach a negotiated settlement. India had attended the Summit for Peace in Ukraine, hosted by Switzerland, in June this year.

You may recall that more than 18,000 Indian students who were studying in Ukraine were evacuated during 2022 under Operation Ganga with the help of Ukrainian and other authorities. India has provided several consignments of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since March 2022, financial assistance for reconstruction and refurbishment of a school, and also for training of teachers from three different schools has also been provided. Further initiatives are also under consideration.

At this stage, for obvious reasons, we are not in a position to discuss in detail the individual elements of the program of the visit, and we request your understanding on this. Information about these elements and the actual discussions between the leaders will be shared with you upon the conclusion of the visit. This is an important visit that is expected to catalyze our ties in a whole range of sectors. Thank you.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:So with that, we open the floor for questions.

Ayushi: Sir good evening, this is Ayushi Agarwal from ANI. I have two questions, one related to Poland and other to Ukraine. During the Prime Minister's visit to Poland, what can we expect in terms of defence announcements? Second, when the Prime Minister visits Ukraine, will there be any talks related to ceasefire and mediation from the Indian side since there has not been any breakthrough? Does India have any plans to narrow the gap and bring the parties on the same page when Prime Minister visits Kyiv. Thank you.

Snehesh: Sir, Snehesh Philip from the Print. Sir, what is the big takeaway that we are looking in Ukraine and are we also proposing a peace plan initiative just like how other countries like China has done?

Pranay: Sir Pranay Upadhyaya Amar Ujala se. Pradhan Mantri jis samay Ukraine ja rahe hain, is samay halat aur najuk hue hain, surksha ke lihaj se kya humne Russian side ko bhi inform kiya hai Pradhan Mantri ki is yatra ke baare mei?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation]Sir, Pranay Upadhyaya from Amar Ujala. The Prime Minister is visiting Ukraine at a time when the situation has become more delicate. From a security perspective, have we also informed the Russian side about the Prime Minister's visit?

Huma:Sir, I'm Huma Siddiqui from the Financial Express. I have two questions. In Poland, what exactly would the discussions be related to in the sector of defence? And you said that in Ukraine also there will be talks about defence. So what are we going to talk in Ukraine about defence, if you can specify that?

Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): I think one question was on defence cooperation. So on Poland, the defence cooperation, it goes back a long time. And we have an Agreement on defence cooperation that was signed in 2003 and this provides for consultations in a Joint Working Group format. India has recently reopened the defence wing at the Embassy in Warsaw. And various opportunities for collaboration continue to be explored with Poland in the realm of defence cooperation.

The next question was… you had another question about the defence. So defence is one aspect of the multifaceted partnership and relations that we have with Ukraine. And this will also be part of discussions. So it is hoped, it is expected. But beyond that, at this stage, I think it will not be proper for me to comment on the specifics.

There was a question on peace plan. On that, I would like to say that India has maintained a very clear and consistent position that diplomacy and dialogue can resolve this conflict and which can lead to enduring peace. So dialogue is absolutely essential. Lasting peace can only be achieved through options that are acceptable to both parties. And it can only be a negotiated settlement. On our part, India continues to engage with all stakeholders. Prime Minister Modi has had conversations with leaders of both Russia and Ukraine, as you know. And Prime Minister had also visited Russia recently. India is willing to provide all possible support and contribution required to help find peaceful solutions to this complex issue. And at this stage, it is not for us to anticipate or prejudge what the outcome of these discussions will be between the leaders of India and Ukraine.

I think we have a substantive and independent engagement with both Ukraine and Russia. And I will leave it at that.

Sudhi:Sir Sudhi Ranjan from Bloomberg. I just wanted a clarification. If you could give us an understanding, since when has Prime Minister's Ukraine visit been under the plans? Because we have seen reports that say or indicate or allege that Prime Minister is visiting Ukraine to balance India's relationship with the West. And we have also seen reports about the United States expressing concern after or during Prime Minister's visit to Russia.

Dinakar: Sir, Dinakar Peri with the Hindu newspaper. A question on Ukraine. So you mentioned about the humanitarian assistance we have given to Ukraine in the past. And Ukraine has been asking for more assistance in terms of medical and other avenues. So can we expect some definitive announcements in the visit on this aspect?

Srinjoy:Sir, Times Now. First of all, when the three Ministers in recent times have come from Ukraine, beginning with Dzhaparova, right up to Kuleba, all three have spoken about India's involvement in reconstruction efforts in the future. Now is that issue going to come up? Because this is clearly a multi-billion dollar issue.

Secondly, many important Ministers in different parts of the world, Brazil, for instance, the Foreign Minister of Brazil, which is part of BRICS like Russia and India, have said that since India has good ties, as you also correctly mentioned, with the West and with Russia, India could play a more important role in the bringing of peace. Of course, we have said dialogue is important and there has to be diplomacy and all that. Now, is this visit a step in that direction?

Manash: This is Manash from PTI. As you said, the visit is taking place at a time when we have seen renewed global efforts to defuse the crisis in Ukraine. So what is the big focus of Prime Minister Modi's, as you described, landmark visit to Kyiv? Because there has been expectation that, in fact, India will play a significant role in addressing the conflict and to find some way out to find a solution. So, is Prime Minister Modi going to focus on resolving the conflict? That is what the global community expects him to also focus on. Thank you.

Evgeny: Sir, my name is Evgeny Pakhomov, from TASS Russian News Agency. So my question is, what's the Indian position of Ukraine's attack on Russian Kursk region? And will this issue be discussed during the talks? Thank you.

Aishwarya: Hi, Aishwarya Iyer, CNN. What message does this visit send to Moscow, at a time when Ukraine is occupying Russian territory? And two, does the Government anticipate signing any defence and security agreements with Ukraine during this visit?

Sandra: Sandra, Deutsche Welle, Germany. Question adding up on what my Bloomberg colleague already pointed out. He pointed out the alleged American pressure after the Moscow visit of the Prime Minister. I wanted to ask about the tweet by President Zelenskyy back then when the visit happened. Has that ever been addressed in the meantime? And in what respect are you going to address the concerns that President Zelenskyy voiced in his tweet back then?

Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West):I think several questions regarding whether this is kind of a balance or, you know, talking about pressure or signal, etc. As I have mentioned in my opening remarks, this is a landmark and historic visit. And I also explained how this visit builds upon the continuing interactions at a very high level and also institutional exchanges between India and Ukraine in various formats over the last couple of years. And, it's a very wide range of scope of issues that are being discussed from consular to science and technology to business linkages. If you also look at, let's say, the bilateral trade, pre-2020, between India and Ukraine, it was of the order of more than 3 billion dollars. And there were large imports of sunflower oil, for example, from Poland. There was cooperation in heavy industry, in railways, in many other sectors, in defence. So this relationship has been continuous and long-standing.

And India has, as I also mentioned earlier, substantive and independent ties with both Russia and Ukraine. And these partnerships, they stand on their own. I would like to say that this is not a zero-sum game. Prime Minister had also travelled to Russia. Many ideas were discussed, Prime Minister has also met President Zelenskyy on a couple of occasions in the last one year or so, and they will now be meeting again in Ukraine. So I would like to say that these are independent, broad ties; and of course the ongoing conflict will form part of the discussions. So we would not like to frame it in the way that some of you have framed this.

There was a question about humanitarian assistance. I think 16 packages have so far been delivered ranging from medicines to power generators, medical equipment, medicines. I think 135 tons of material has been supplied so far and further initiatives are being explored and at this stage I would not like to comment on what the actual outcome will be at this stage. You will come to know at the end of the visit.

There was a question about reconstruction. India, of course, has expressed that we are willing to provide all support and contribution that may be required, not only to find the peaceful solutions but also in the recovery process later.

You had asked about the recent developments in Kursk. I can only say that the conflict is ongoing, and we believe that the resolution to this conflict can only come through dialogue and diplomacy. Prime Minister Modi has said, as you all know, that this is not the time for war and solution cannot be found on the battlefield. This is a clear and consistent position that India has taken and we believe that a vast majority of countries share this view.

Sanjeev:Sir I am Sanjeev from News24. Will the Prime Minister be having a diaspora meeting in Ukraine as well. And secondly if I may repeat the question of my colleagues whether he is going there with a plan to mediate, do we have a peace plan to work?

Pranay: Sir Pranay Upadhyaya. Aapne kaha ki 18000 Bhartiya chhatron ko humne Operation Ganga ke dauran wahan se nikala tha surakshit, lekin bahot saare chhatr wapas gaye the. Kai Bhartiya chhatr abhi bhi wahan medical ki padhai kar rahe hain, unke vishay ko lekar, unke bahot saare mudde hain, unko lekar bhi kya Pradhan Mantri ke agenda mei koi vishay hain, charcha hum karenge ki unki suraksha bhi ho aur jo education related unke issues the woh bhi address ho sake?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation]Sir, Pranay Upadhyay. Sir, you mentioned that during Operation Ganga, we safely evacuated 18,000 Indian students from there. However, many students had had returned. Many Indian students are still pursuing medical education there. They have various concerns. Is there anything on the Prime Minister's agenda to discuss their concerns? Would we discuss their safety and their education-related concerns?

Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West):Regarding the question on the peace plan, I think I have already spoken about that issue.

On the question of the Indian students, of course Indian students have been studying in Ukraine for a long time. After the start of the conflict as you also mentioned, India had evacuated around 18,000 students, who were studying there, under Operation Ganga. The National Medical Council, they had facilitated the transfer of students to other universities and countries, when they came back. We now understand that around 2,100 Indian students are enrolled with the Ukrainian universities at this stage and of this, a little over 1,000 Indian students are currently pursuing these studies in person in Ukraine. Our Embassy continues to maintain regular contact with the Indian students and the Ukrainian authorities and of course, we appreciate the help that had been provided by the Ukrainian authorities during the Operation Ganga itself and also later in facilitating, for example, the qualification exams to be held outside Ukraine. We continue to remain in close touch with the authorities and also the Embassy continues to maintain contact with the students.

Dinakar: Sir, if I can add one more question, Dinakar with the Hindu sir. Last year, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy had proposed a 10-point peace formula. What is our take on that? And is that going to be part of the discussions now that the Prime Minister is actually visiting the country?

Banna:Sir I am Banna from Madhyamam. How many students had written the exam outside Ukraine, you have mentioned earlier?

Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): As I had mentioned and as you know, India had participated in the Summit for Peace in Ukraine that was held in Switzerland, and we have maintained that the only way forward is a negotiated settlement which will involve both parties. We continue to engage with all stakeholders. I will reiterate that Prime Minister Modi had visited Russia recently and now he is travelling to Ukraine. So, many ideas are being discussed and then let's see. We will be able to brief you about the outcome after the visit has taken place.

About the students, exact number of how many they have, I am afraid I don't have the exact number at this stage, but we will try and get back to you on that.

Pia: Hi, this is Pia with the Print. Sir, we have seen reports of Nepali citizens who were in the Russian Army and then captured by Ukrainian forces. Are there any similar cases of Indians who are in the Russian Army who have faced the same fate and if so, will this be raised in the talks when PM visits Ukraine? So far, we know that there are 69 Indians who are in the Russian Army and want to come back. So, just a clarification on this would be great.

Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): I think there has already been a discussion on this in the Parliament. So, I would refer you to the statements made over there and that contains the details.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:With that, we come to the close of this Press Briefing, but please do keep in touch over social media; and several of you are also travelling to that part of the world. We will have Press Briefings both in Poland and in Ukraine, and look forward to keeping you updated on the visits. Thank you.