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    India participates in European Economic Congress in Poland to enhance Eastern European outreach

    Synopsis

    The aim of the event was to provide an increased impetus to foreign investments in Poland and the wider CEE region, and to foster closer cooperation with international partners across the world.

    India
    A high level delegation of Indian officials, including the Deputy Finance Minister of Bihar Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, Rajya Sabha Member Shri K. C. Tyagi, eminent jurists and representatives from educational institutions, participated in these seminars.
    The 10th jubilee edition of the annual European Economic Congress has recently concluded in Katowice, Poland. The congress, which is the biggest of its kind in the central and eastern European (CEE) region, brings together some of the world’s most prominent heads of state, policymakers and international partners.

    The aim of the event was to provide an increased impetus to foreign investments in Poland and the wider CEE region, and to foster closer cooperation with international partners across the world.

    This year’s edition featured over 900 speakers, 11,500 participants and guests comprising of heads of state, E.U. commissioners, government representatives, academics, international multilateral institutions and CEOs of some of the largest companies in the region.

    Among the noteworthy speakers at the event were Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland Mr. Mateusz Morawiecki, the European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström, the European Commissioner for Climate Action & Energy Miguel Arias Cañete, the President Emeritus of the European Council Mr. Herman van Rompuy and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank Justin Yifu Lin.

    Seminars held on the sidelines of the event focused on international economic cooperation; government policies to promote the attractiveness of foreign FDI in the region; the transport, infrastructure and logistics industries; aspects related to the energy industry and climate change, etc.

    During the Congress, a special seminar was devoted to the economic and political cooperation between Poland and the government of West Bengal. The chief guest at this seminar was Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Minister of Power & Non-Conventional Energy Sources of West Bengal.

    On the sidelines of the recently concluded Bengal Global Business Summit 2018 in Kolkata, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the state government of West Bengal and the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Poland.

    Following this, a high-level committee was established in Warsaw under the heading of the ‘West Bengal Project’. The committee comprises of officials from the Polish Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Energy, and Entrepreneurship & Technology; the Polish Development Fund (PFR); JSW S.A. – the largest producer of coking coal in Poland; PeBeKa – a leader in mining and infrastructure development projects; and the Indo-Polish Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IPCCI). Grupa FAMUR, another key player in the Polish mining sector, has now also joined the project.

    This is the first time that the government of the Republic of Poland has sought to collaborate with the state government of a partner country in such a way, providing tailor-made solutions to the mining and energy sectors of that state.

    Given the Indian government’s plans to increase domestic coal production to 1 billion tons by 2020, the government of the Republic of Poland sees this as an ideal opportunity to provide its Indian partners the expertise of Polish businesses and institutions, which have been actively present in the sector for decades.

    The proposed solutions offered by Polish enterprises include not only increasing mining output and productivity, but also encompass solutions relating to environmental sustainability and safety, dry coal beneficiation, clean coal technologies, energy generation, efficient transportation and other related areas.

    The formation of the ‘West Bengal Project’ stands as a testament to the commitment of the Republic of Poland to improve on the already strong bilateral economic and political cooperation between both countries and help the Republic of India to fully utilize its resources to meet its goals in the mining and power generation sectors.

    The goals of the project were further reinforced during the Congress by Grzegorz Tobiszowski, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Republic of Poland, who stated that Polish firms were ready to provide innovative solutions and technologies to their Indian partners.

    The Deputy Minister went on to state that Poland’s offer to their Indian counterparts included technology transfers of advanced underground mining machinery, which would allow for the domestic production of these equipment in India, as well as Polish assistance in the design and development of new coal mines and the exploration of new coal deposits.

    In addition, two seminars at the Congress were exclusively dedicated to exploring opportunities to further increase economic ties between India and Poland – in particular on the opportunities available to Polish firms to enter the Indian market; and the identification of key sectors (education, infrastructure, healthcare and banking) to increase bilateral cooperation between both countries.

    A high level delegation of Indian officials, including the Deputy Finance Minister of Bihar Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, Rajya Sabha Member Shri K. C. Tyagi, eminent jurists and representatives from educational institutions, participated in these seminars.

    The Deputy Finance Minister expressed his optimism in attracting Polish firms to invest in the food processing sector in Bihar. He also stated his hope on increasing collaboration between Polish academic institutions with their counterparts in the state.

    On the occasion of the 10th jubilee edition of the European Economic Congress, a concurrent event – the third European Start-Up Days was also organized at the Congress venue. This event sought to bring together innovative new start-ups, business enterprises, funding institutions and policymakers to further develop this segment, and to build an environment which will serve as a catalyst for the growth of new start-ups in the future.

    Poland is the eighth-largest economy in the European Union, and the largest in the Central & Eastern European Region (CEE). Over the course of the past 25 years, it has seen its economy grow exponentially.

    In 2018, Poland’s economy registered a year-on-year GDP growth rate of 4.6%, making it one of the fastest growing economies in the E.U. In fact, during the first quarter of 2018, the economy registered a growth rate of 5.1% from the corresponding period in the previous financial year.

    Additionally, Poland was the only E.U. member state not to have registered a downturn following the 2008 global financial crisis. Today, Poland boasts of a national personal per capita income of nearly USD 30,000, which marks a five-fold increase from the level of USD 6,000 recorded in 1990.

    Furthermore, Poland was ranked 27th in the 2018 global Ease of Doing Business World Bank Rankings, a sign of its leadership in the region.

    With a dynamic and highly-skilled workforce, an attractive investment climate, and its location in the heart of Europe, Poland today has proven itself to be a European economic powerhouse.




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