Delivering his address at the “India-Poland Energy Summit” organized jointly by the Embassy of Poland and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), on the occasion of India and Poland completing 60 years of Diplomatic Relations this year, Mr Jerzy Witold Pietrewicz, Secretary of State, Ministry of Economy, Poland said, “There is a huge potential to share the Polish experience and technology with India as both countries have similar challenges in the energy sector and there are also similarities in both countries’ energy mix.” Highlighting potential areas for collaboration between the two countries, he said, “Poland has a well developed mining sector and renewable energy is an important element of the energy system in Poland. There could be opportunities for collaboration in these areas where Polish companies can provide technology solutions for extracting mining resources and both countries could leverage their expertise in solar and wind power. In addition, we can also explore the possibility of close collaborations among the institutes in both countries to develop clean coal technologies. I believe collaborations in all these areas can positively influence economic cooperation between the two countries.”
Reiterating the opportunities for collaboration between the two countries, Mr BK Chaturvedi, Member Energy Planning Commission, Government of India, said, “Shale gas, Renewable energy and coal mining are some key areas where there are enormous opportunities for collaboration between India and Poland. For instance, both Poland and India intend to increase the renewable energy component in the energy mix and some possible avenues for cooperation in this segment could be offshore wind and solar technology. Similarly, shale gas resources is another important avenue for cooperation as India is still developing its shale gas policy. In the oil and gas sector, both countries could also look at synergies in gas hydrates, Coal bed Methane and pipeline infrastructure. Coal mining in particular would be a key area for cooperation as Poland has considerable experience while in India there is currently inefficient underground coal mining. “
In the course of her remarks, Ms Katarzyna Kacperczyk, Undersecretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Poland said, “Given the common economic challenges faced by India and Poland, there are huge opportunities for cooperation between the two countries and India is one of our key partners in the Asian continent. Energy is a vital strategic issue for both Poland and India and collaboration between the two countries in this segment is not only an opportunity but a must.
Giving his perspective, Mr G Mohan Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Government of India said, “India has ambitious plans of becoming the largest producer of steel globally in the next two-three years. Given the concerns about mitigation of global warming, the energy intensive steel sector has to adopt eco-friendly changes. Indian companies can leverage on the Polish expertise as they undertake modernization of plants and move towards energy efficiency. There is a tremendous opportunity for both countries to collaborate in the area of Research & Development, transfer of efficient clean technologies and raw material beneficiation.”