Speech by Her Excellency the President of India, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil, at the Business Luncheon Meeting at Warsaw, Poland

I am delighted to address this distinguished joint gathering of leaders of business and industry from Poland and India. Poland has made remarkable progress since its shift to a market economy in 1991 and particularly so after joining the European Union in May 2004. The contribution of business leaders in shaping the national development agenda is well known. I am sure all of you present here have had a role to play in the success story of India and Poland's development.

The Agreement on Economic Cooperation between India and Poland was signed in Warsaw on 19 May 2006. The Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation under this Agreement is already operational and held its first meeting in New Delhi in May 2008. Business establishments on both sides would need to build on existing cooperation and mechanisms to identify areas of trade, investment and economic cooperation to move the Indo-Polish partnership forward. Polish companies have established a good presence in the Indian market. A very large number of Indian companies are also present in Poland.

Our bilateral trade has grown almost seven times over the last ten years and crossed the 1 billion dollar mark last year. But when we compare our bilateral trade to Poland's global trade of over US$ 400 billion in 2008, it is not even 0.4 percent of the total. I would, therefore, like to encourage business and industry leaders on both sides to suggest ways and means of realizing the full potential. However, it is a matter of satisfaction, that despite both countries being affected by the current global economic downturn, bilateral trade in 2008 maintained a healthy growth of nearly 50 percent over 2007. Trade statistics presented to me show that Polish exports to India grew by an impressive 84 percent while Indian exports to Poland grew by nearly 40 percent. I do hope that the mutual interactions at your Business Forum today will provide further impetus to these positive trends. We in India are committed to encourage further growth and diversification of our global trade, investment and economic cooperation with Poland.

I see a great future for Indo-Polish economic cooperation in the knowledge based industries, bio-technology, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and auto components, infrastructure, health tourism, higher education, R&D joint projects, among others. Our cooperation in Research and Development and joint ventures in Mining, Energy and Power generation is of mutual advantage to both countries.

The tremendous growth of India's large domestic market is well known. India's strong middle class, which is already larger than the population of the United States and may equal the entire population of the European Union in the not too distant future, would continue to grow and attract demand for capital and consumer goods alike.

India is now a production base and an outsourcing hub for several products ranging from agricultural goods to automobile components to engineering, design and high-end IT enabled solutions and services. Indian firms are now part of global processing chains. Our telecommunication, IT, bio-technology and pharmaceutical sectors are growing at par with the best in the developed world.

I am happy to inform you that the two Agreements signed today are related to Tourism and Health and Medicine. Both are promising areas for business development in both India and Poland. India has vast tourism potential. Poland also has good potential in the tourism sector and I understand that many health tourism resorts in Poland are up for privatization. The Indian systems of Yoga and Ayurveda, which are based on proven medical sciences, have now caught the imagination of the whole world. Besides these traditional disciplines, we also now pride ourselves with best super-speciality healthcare facilities in the world at highly affordable prices. Therefore, the two agreements we have signed today should go a long way in forging partnerships in both sectors between interested parties on the two sides.

Poland has high standards in University education, higher research and new technology development. India is also recognized internationally for its IITs, IIMs and IIITs. We are investing heavily in the education sector. We have made good progress in space sciences and civil nuclear energy development. Both our countries can benefit from each others' strengths in these fields.

Friends, in conclusion, I would like to invite the leaders of Polish business and industry to avail themselves of the opportunities in India and tap the vast potential that exists to multiply manifold the current level of our trade and economic relations. I would like to encourage my own compatriots also to avail themselves of all the advantages this friendly country offers. With the cooperative efforts of business leaders from the two nations, both countries will be able to leverage the core competencies of the two sides for the common good of all.

I wish you all success in your deliberations. My best wishes.  
Thank you.