Talks in New Delhi

Donald Tusk met Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday, 22 October 2026, and afterwards said the two countries share a great deal and nothing divides them. The talks focused on how to strengthen the strategic partnership agreed when Modi visited Warsaw in August 2024. Tusk said the first results of that partnership had been reviewed and priorities set for the coming years. Polsat News reported that this is the first visit to India by a Polish prime minister in 16 years, and Tusk called the trip the largest of its kind in the history of relations between the two countries. He added that the world looks with envy at how both countries have developed over the last 35 years.

Poland as a gateway

Tusk told a business forum in New Delhi that he wants Poland to serve as Europe's door for Indian companies and India the same for Polish firms in Asia. He said Poland offers advanced industry, specialists and access to the European single market, while India brings scale, dynamism, talent and production capacity.

“We want Poland to be a gateway to Europe for companies from India, and India a gateway for Polish companies to Asia.”

Tusk named defence, dual-use technology, mining, energy, agriculture, food processing, pharmaceuticals, space and digital technology as areas where the two countries could work together. He said he would personally sponsor contacts between Polish and Indian companies, and that business meetings would run alongside the political talks. Modi said the two sides would build new partnerships in critical minerals, raw materials and coal gasification, and expressed confidence that their shared goal of doubling bilateral trade would succeed. Tusk also called for closer ties between Polish and Indian universities and researchers.

Security and supply chains

Tusk said Poland and India understand the geopolitical risks and the need to reduce dependence on dominant suppliers for raw materials, strategic technologies and critical minerals. He linked this to the war in Ukraine and fragile supply chains for energy, raw materials and technology, arguing that Poland must build resilient relations with many states. He said India was particularly important to Poland in that context and that cooperation in this area would be very fruitful. Modi said both countries believe in the rule of law and democracy, and that institutions supporting development should be strengthened. Modi added that India would support every effort toward peace in Ukraine.

Shared history and next steps

Tusk linked the partnership to the non-violent ideas behind Solidarity and to Indian tradition and history, which he said were a clear source of inspiration. He recalled that Poles remember the wartime shelter given to Polish refugees, including children, by Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji, ruler of Nawanagar and known in Poland as the Good Maharaja. Modi said a youth exchange programme named after the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar was passing friendship on to new generations. Tusk announced that 30 March will be Polish-Indian partnership day and said culture could become another pillar of economic cooperation. On Thursday evening he was due to fly to Bengaluru, known as India's Silicon Valley, with entrepreneurs, representatives of the Polish Space Agency and space and technology firms.