Narendra Modi will become the first Indian prime minister after Morarji Desai to travel to Poland in 45 years as he leaves New Delhi on Wednesday for an official visit to the easr european country, from where he will travel to Ukraine.
Interestingly from Poland, Modi is scheduled to travel to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on a train known as ‘Rail Force One’. The journey will take around 10 hours, reports say.
This would be Modi’s first visit to Ukraine since Kyiv was attacked by Russian forces in February 2022.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Poland and India.
The Indian prime minister is scheduled to hold meetings with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk, the reports said, adding that he will also meet the Polish president Andrzej Duda.
Modi will also meet the people of Indian community in the country.
“Indian community in Poland 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,” an Indian government official was quoted as saying.
As for Ukraine, this will be visit by any Indian prime minister after diplomatic ties were established between the two countries 30 years ago.
Also, Modi’s visit comes at a time when Kyiv has carried out a fresh military offensive against Russia.
Also Read: Rajnath Singh visit focuses on strengthening India, US ties
Modi will also hold talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. The two leaders are expected to discuss the entire gamut of India-Ukraine ties including in areas of agriculture, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, health and education, defence, and people-to-people contact.
Earlier in June this year, Modi had met Zelensky along the sidelines of G7 summit.
Last month, during his meeting with Russian president V Putin in Moscow, Modi nudged him to return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy, suggesting that no solution can be found on the battlefield.
