New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a day visit this week. At first, he will visit Poland on August 21 and thereafter Ukraine on August 23, the External Affairs Ministry said on Monday. He will visit Kyiv at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "PM Narendra Modi will undertake an official visit to Ukraine later this week on Friday, August 23, on the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This is also a landmark and a historic visit since this will be the first time an Indian PM will be visiting Ukraine in more than 30 years since we established our diplomatic relations. This visit will build upon the recent high-level interactions between the leaders..." Secretary West, MEA, Tanmaya Lal said during a press briefing on Monday.
Notably, PM Modi made a highly publicised trip to Moscow on July 8-9 wherein old friends India and Russia sought to boost bilateral trade and cooperation in areas ranging from nuclear energy to medicine.
But the visit made headlines as it coincided with the strike on the hospital in Kyiv.
India has always been advocating diplomacy and dialogue to resolve conflict in Ukraine: MEA
During the presser, the MEA official underscored that India has maintained a very clear and consistent position that diplomacy and dialogue can resolve this conflict between the two nations. He stressed that lasting peace can only be achieved through options that are acceptable to both parties and "it can only be a negotiated settlement." "On our part, India continues to engage with all stakeholders," he said.
It is worth mentioning Prime Minister Modi has had conversations with leaders of both Russia and Ukraine multiple times. Every time PM Modi spoke to both leaders, he conveyed a message-- "India is willing to provide all possible support and contribution required to help find peaceful solutions".
PM Modi to visit Poland-- 45 years after Morarji Desai
Besides Ukraine, PM Modi will also focus on Poland as this would be the first visit of any Indian leader in the past 45 years. Former PM Morarji Desai visited Poland in 1979 while Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi had also visited the country.
"PM Narendra Modi will be undertaking an official visit to Poland this week on the 21st and 22nd of August on the invitation of PM Donald Tusk. This is a landmark visit as the PM of India is visiting Poland after 45 years. This visit takes place as we also mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations...," said the top MEA official.
Role of Poland in evacuating Indian students in 2022
It is worth recalling India had a "successful" rescue mission called "Operation Ganga" during the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. At that time, Poland had played a crucial role in the evacuation of more than 4,000 Indian students. "Indian community in Poland is estimated at around 25,000. This includes around 5,000 students. The government and people of Poland had offered valuable assistance during 'Operation Ganga' for the evacuation of Indian students from Ukraine. More than 4,000 Indian students were evacuated via Poland in 2022. One of the unique bonds between our countries relates to the time in the 1940s during World War 2 when more than 6,000 Polish women and children found refuge in two princely states in India - Jamnagar and Kolhapur...", he added.
