Poland holds agriculture meetings with Japan, India
The meeting was devoted to, inter alia, the issue of agriculture and the Poland-EU relations in the field of the agricultural policy.
The Deputy Minister expressed his satisfaction with long-term, friendly contacts with Japan. In this context, he referred to the fact that in May 2017 the Polish and Japanese Ministers of Foreign Affairs had signed the Action Plan on implementing strategic partnership between both countries for 2017-2020.
"I hope that bilateral cooperation will be further strengthened, especially in the area of agriculture", stressed the Undersecretary of State.
Deputy Minister Romanowski reminded that an occasion to promote and develop cooperation would be: this year’s 60th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic relations between Poland and Japan and the 100th anniversary of their establishment to be celebrated in 2019.
One of the topics of the meeting was a discussion on the Polish attitude towards the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy and the issue of a free trade agreement which is being negotiated between the European Union and Japan. As regards the barriers applied by Japan, the Deputy Minister asked Japan to recognise the EU regionalisation in connection with ASF and to resume the export of Polish pork to the Japanese market.
Undersecretary of State Rafał Romanowski informed the Japanese party that the Polish agri-food industry was one of the most modern industries in Europe. The Polish veterinary, sanitary, phytosanitary and quality standards have been adapted to the highest European Union and international requirements. He stressed that they would surely meet the expectations of Japanese consumers.
Japan is the market in which the Polish companies of the agri-food sector are particularly interested. For this reason, it has been included into the plan of promotions for 2017 as one of 14 target non-European foreign markets on which the promotional measures will be focused.
India
Shortly before, Undersecretary of State Ryszard Zarudzki met with Minister of State for Food Processing Industries of the Republic of India, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.
The talks concerned the issue of the development of Polish-Indian cooperation in the field of agriculture. Minister Jyoti stressed the recognition on the part of India for the strong position of Polish agriculture in Europe and all over the world as well as the interest in Polish experiences related to the development of the agri-food sector.
In the context of good condition of Polish agriculture, the Polish Deputy Minister pointed to, inter alia, the importance of the integrity of individual stages of the agricultural production as well as the effectiveness of support schemes for producers from the agri-food sector. During the talks, he also raised the issues relevant from the point of view of access for Polish products to the Indian market.
Minister Jyoti invited the Polish party to participate in the World Food India fair organised, inter alia, by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries of the Republic of India in November 2017 in New Delhi. The subject-matter of the fair will be focused mainly on the will of India to acquire technologies, know-how as well as machinery and equipment for food processing and also foreign direct investment in this sector.