Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Minister Sonowal invites Polish firms to build, innovate, and invest in India

New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) Union Ports, Shipping & Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday urged Polish companies to "build, innovate, and invest in India" rather than only sell to it, as he pitched the country's growth story to business leaders from both nations.  

Addressing the India-Poland Business Forum here, Sonowal proposed a Startup Bridge, an Innovation Corridor, and an AI and Quantum Dialogue to link businesses, researchers, and innovators in both countries. Trade between the two countries has reached $6.36 billion, and Indian investment in Poland exceeds $3 billion. Polish companies are also active in India in packaging, manufacturing, waste-to-energy and electric mobility. The ambition should be larger than doubling trade by 2030, he added.

"We should create together. We should innovate together. We should invest together. We should build trusted supply chains together. And we should succeed together," Sonowal said.

He urged business leaders to see the India-EU free trade agreement as more than a trade pact. "View it as a partnership multiplier," he said. It opens a larger window into the Indian market for Polish firms, he said, and widens European opportunities for Indian ones.

He further stated that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Poland in August 2024, he and Prime Minister Tusk elevated the bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership. They did so with a clear conviction: the India-Poland relationship must not only be strong in diplomacy; it must also be strong in business, technology, investment and innovation, he added.

The aim now, he said, is for the relationship to be as strong in business, technology, investment and innovation as it is in diplomacy.

"India offers the scale of a large and growing market, the skills of a young and talented workforce, and the trust of a democracy committed to reform, enterprise, and openness," Sonowal said.

The minister stated that the two economies fit together. Poland has strengths in engineering, machinery, mining technologies, transport, environmental solutions, and advanced manufacturing, while India has the market, talent, and manufacturing base to give those capabilities scale.

Sonowal highlighted that India has set an ambitious target to generate 500 GW of non-fossil fuel power capacity by 2030, putting forth a strong Climate Action step by the country. He put the investment needed at roughly 280 billion to 300 billion euros, with openings for equipment makers, storage, power grids, green hydrogen, recycling and environmental technology. Poland's experience in mining, critical minerals and clean energy could help, Sonowal said.

On technology, he noted that Indian IT companies have made Poland a base for their European operations and employ about 10,000 people there. He said the next step should go beyond IT services, into artificial intelligence, quantum computing, 5G applications, digital infrastructure, smart manufacturing and space.

--IANS

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