Trade, defence and the Russia-Ukraine conflict to dominate Modi-Tusk talks on October 22

Building trade and defence ties as well as discussing the war in Ukraine will be at the top of the agenda as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (October 22, 2026). Mr. Tusk visited India in 2010, during his previous tenure as Poland PM, and in 2017 when he was President of the European Council. Among other outcomes, Delhi and Warsaw are focusing efforts to double bilateral trade, which is at about $6 billion at present, with the India- European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) due to be signed in December expected to give it a fillip. 

Mr. Tusk will also travel to Bengaluru on Friday (October 23).

“The visit will provide the opportunity to further strengthen the India-Poland Strategic Partnership and advance cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including trade and investment, defence, emerging technologies, renewable energy, education, culture and people-to-people ties,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in an announcement about the visit.  “It would also serve to deepen the India-EU strategic partnership,” it added, signalling the upcoming India-EU Summit for signing of the FTA on December 16, when Mr. Modi is expected to travel to Brussels. Mr. Tusk is accompanied by Mr. Andrzej Domanski, Minister of Finance and Economy, and a large business delegation, the Ministry said.   

While defence cooperation will be a priority, Poland is also keen to insulate ties from Russia by signing a “confidentiality agreement on classified information”, sources said.

A joint working group (JWG) on defence met in September this year in Warsaw to finalise agreements that would be discussed. Among them is an agreement to take into account sensitivities of Polish defence companies worried about “technology leakages to Russia”, and to ensure scrutiny of dual use items, they added.

In addition, Mr. Modi and Mr. Tusk will discuss the war in Ukraine, including recent initiatives by New Delhi to mediate between Kyiv and Moscow by conveying messages over issues such as the Black Sea grain export and safety of mariners who have faced attacks in the war.

During his visit to Warsaw in September, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had listed a number of other agreements the two sides were working on in the fields of cybersecurity, space cooperation between state agencies, information technology, critical minerals and clean and renewable energy. When asked whether the two sides had discussed India’s import of Russian oil that has reached record figures this year, Mr. Jaishankar said that the war in Ukraine was not going to end “because somebody chose to or not to buy oil or aluminium or fertilizers or metals and minerals”. “It will end when there is diplomacy, when there is dialogue, when there is negotiation”.

Also read | Polish PM set to visit India next month, defence cooperation to take centre stage

Officials said the business delegation, which will take part in India-Poland business forums in Delhi and Bengaluru with top Indian CEOs, includes representatives of about 100 companies keen to broaden business with India. Among them will be a number of defence companies and renewable energy technology companies seeking to invest in Indian projects for recycling lithium-ion electric batteries, as well as those related to green hydrogen and ammonia, to boost green transformation.

While the FTA with the EU will take effect some time in 2027, officials on both sides say they want to explore future collaborations that will benefit from lowered tariffs, particularly in food processing and apple supplies. However, dairy and meat products, which make up about a fourth of Poland’s agricultural exports, are not included in the FTA. Mr. Tusk and Mr. Modi are expected to meet again later this year, as Poland has been invited as a special guest by U.S. President Donald Trump to the G-20 Summit in Florida on December 14 and 15.