This article sets out the diplomatic relationship between India and Poland: how relations were established, the high-level visits exchanged over the decades, the 2024 decision to form a Strategic Partnership, parliamentary contacts, dialogue mechanisms and general agreements. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of June 2026, which presents information as on 30 June 2026.

Establishment of relations

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, diplomatic relations between India and Poland were established in 1954, leading to the opening of the Indian Embassy in Warsaw in 1957. The brief states that the two countries shared common ideological perceptions, based on their opposition to colonialism, imperialism and racism.

The brief describes bilateral relations during the Communist era as "close and cordial", with regular high level visits. It records that the relationship continued to remain close after Poland chose the democratic path in 1989, and that a cordial political relationship has emerged in the current century, particularly after Poland joined the EU in 2004.

High-level visits in earlier decades

The brief lists the following high level visits from India to Poland:

  • Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (1955)
  • Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (1967)
  • President V.V. Giri (1970)
  • Prime Minister Morarji Desai (1979)
  • President Zail Singh (1986)
  • President S.D. Sharma (1996)

From the Polish side, it lists visits by Prime Ministers Cyrankieweicz (1957) and Jaroszewicz (1973), Polish United Workers' Party First Secretary Gierek (1977), Gen. Jaruszelski (1985), President Lech Walesa (1994 and 1998), President Alexander Kwasniewski (1998) and Polish PM Leszek Miller (2003).

The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil, visited Poland in April 2009. Polish PM Donald Tusk paid a state visit to India in September 2010.

Vice President's visit, April 2017

The then Vice President, Shri Hamid Ansari, paid an official visit to Poland in April 2017. He led a high-level delegation that included Shri Giriraj Singh, Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, and four Members of Parliament from both Houses: Shri Sita Ram Yechuri, Shri D.P. Tripathi, Shri Vivek K. Tankha and Shri Thupstan Chhewang.

The Vice President held talks with the Prime Minister, the President and the Marshal (Speaker) of the Senate. He addressed, jointly with the Polish Prime Minister, an Indo-Polish Business Summit at the Ministry of Economic Development in Warsaw, and formally inaugurated the newly-built Embassy complex in Warsaw. An agreement on cooperation in agriculture and allied sector was signed during the visit. The brief says the visit, which came after a gap of nine years, "helped to greatly reinvigorate the warm bilateral ties".

External Affairs Minister's visit, August 2019

EAM Dr S. Jaishankar visited Poland on 28-29 August 2019. The brief notes that the last visit by a Minister of External Affairs had been in 1987. He held delegation level talks with Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz, followed by a joint address to the local media, and also met Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Glinski.

A Joint Statement was issued at the end of the visit. In it, Poland emphasised India's role as a prominent regional power, an active and significant player in G20 and in the United Nations, and its key partner in South Asia. India emphasised Poland's role as an important member of the European Union and a leader of Central & Eastern Europe.

Prime Minister's visit, August 2024

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi paid an official visit to Poland on 21-22 August 2024, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The brief describes the visit as historic, since it was the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Poland after 45 years.

The Prime Minister held discussions with PM Donald Tusk in restricted and delegation-level formats. He called on President Andrzej Duda in a tete-a-tete format and held delegation level talks with him. According to the brief, the principal outcome of the visit was the decision to elevate India-Poland bilateral relations to the level of a Strategic Partnership. A Joint Statement and an Action Plan (2024-2028) to implement the Strategic Partnership were issued.

On 21 August 2024 the Prime Minister paid homage at the Dobry Maharaja Memorial, the Kolhapur Memorial and the Monte Cassino Memorial, and on 22 August 2024 at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw. He also interacted with Polish business leaders, Indologists and influencers, and addressed the Indian community in Poland.

Other recent visits

The brief records a series of ministerial and official visits in recent years:

  • Krzysztof Szczerski, Secretary of State and Chief of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Poland, visited India in January 2019.
  • The then Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau visited India from 25-27 April 2022 for the Raisina Dialogue, called on the Prime Minister and met EAM.
  • Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs W.T. Bartoszewski visited India from 19-23 February 2024 to meet MoS Meenakshi Lekhi and the then Deputy NSA Vikram Misri, and took part in the 9th edition of the Raisina Dialogue 2024. He attended the 2025 edition of the Raisina Dialogue and the India-EU Forum in February 2026.
  • Polish Dy. Prime Minister & Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski visited India and met EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar in Delhi on 19 January 2026.
  • Ms. Pooja Kapur, Additional Secretary (NE), MEA, visited Warsaw in March 2026 for bilateral consultations and met Secretary of State Mr. W T Bartoszewski on 25 March 2026.
  • EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar held official talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski in Warsaw in September 2026, arriving from Kyiv.

Parliamentary exchanges

The brief states that contacts between the Indian and Polish Parliaments were established after the overthrow of the Communist system in 1989. Polish parliamentary delegations visited India in December 1992, March 2000, January 2003 and December 2004, and Speaker of Lok Sabha Shri Manohar Joshi led a multi-party delegation to Poland in May 2002.

Following the last general elections in October 2023, a 22-member Parliamentary Friendship Group was constituted on 27 June 2024, with Ms. Kinga Gajewska, MP as its President. A delegation of Polish MPs led by Mrs. Dorota Niedziela, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm, visited Jaipur from 8-11 December 2024 for the Rising Rajasthan business and investment summit, and interacted with Speaker of the Lok Sabha Mr. Om Birla, Commerce and Industry Minister Mr. Piyush Goyal and Culture & Tourism Minister Mr. G. S. Shekhawat.

A 6-member group of Polish MPs led by Mr. Pawel Kowal, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Sejm, visited India from 7-13 February 2025. The delegation met Mr. Pabitra Margherita, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Chairman of the Standing Committee on External Affairs, and Mr. Harivansh, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. In February 2026 the Lok Sabha constituted an India-Poland Parliamentary Friendship group headed by MP Mr. Surendra Singh Nagar.

Dialogue mechanisms

Both sides have held Foreign Office Consultations (FOCs) regularly since 1996, and a Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations (1996) is among the operational agreements listed in the brief. Bilateral Consultations at Director General-level took place in New Delhi on 6 December 2024 between Mr. Arun Kumar Sahu, Additional Secretary (Central Europe), MEA, and Mr. Wojciech Zajaczkowski, Director, Asia-Pacific Department, MFA Poland.

The 11th round of Foreign Office Consultations was held in New Delhi on 1 December 2025, co-chaired by Mr. Sibi George, Secretary (West), MEA, and Mr. W.T. Bartoszewski, Secretary of State, MFA Poland. The two sides reviewed the Strategic Partnership with reference to the Action Plan (2024-2028). According to the brief, they reaffirmed their commitment to bolster cooperation in digital payment systems, cyber security, trade and investment, AI, security and defence, culture and higher education, consular issues and people-to-people ties.

The first India-Poland Policy Planning Dialogue was held in virtual mode on 24 March 2021 between Mr. Anupam Ray, JS (PP&R), MEA, and Mr. Maciej Pisarski, Director (Strategy), MFA. The second was held in Warsaw on 18 February 2025 between delegations led by Mr. S. Raghuram, Joint Secretary (PP&R), MEA, and Mr. Lukasz Pawlowski, Director (Strategy), MFA.