POLISH-SINGAPOREAN economic relations in recent years have been particularly bolstered by Poland’s support of the Republic’s supply-chain diversification efforts. These efforts have been further consolidated in the face of growing global food insecurity.

As an agricultural powerhouse with an over-US$15-billion surplus in agri-food in 2022, Poland has been actively engaging Singapore market players. We regularly have a national pavilion at the Food and Hotel Asia show, including at the ongoing 2023 edition.

These relationships, along with high standards and advanced production methods, have successfully enabled Polish products to reach Singaporean shelves.

This has led growth in Polish food exports to Singapore to treble since 2019. The most notable example reflecting this is the Wozniak Group – the main Polish eggs exporter – which was able to respond swiftly to rising local demand and meet stringent requirements.

I am also glad to see more products from Poland imported by smaller local companies. As our respective phytosanitary agencies share a commitment to remove the final existing administrative barriers and swiftly complete market access procedures for premium Polish beef, we are looking forward to a new, barrier-free phase of our agri-food trade.

In fact, delicious Polish food has always been at the centre of our annual Polish Festival in Singapore, PolandSHIOK, which is now in its seventh year. The Polish Cuisine Week will also kick off this weekend in the Republic. Meant to promote Poland through our exquisite culinary traditions, the event will feature a menu curated and prepared by Polish chefs, which will soon be featured at the Winestone restaurant.

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Over the years, PolandSHIOK has evolved to also feature Polish culture, art, history, and tourism. This year it falls, for the first time, under the umbrella of Polish Heritage Days, an initiative to promote Polish culture and heritage worldwide.

So far, we have presented several Polish movies in Singapore, including at the Polish Film Festival in April, and as part of a collaborative project with the Singapore Science Centre to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

These and future projects will be featured on the PolandSHIOK festival’s website: polandshiok.sg.

Turning back to the economy, which forms the core of our relationship – trade ties remain strong and continue to evolve, as businesses in both countries use their strengths to springboard their growth within their respective regions.

While overall trade remained at similar levels to previous years at the over-US$1 billion mark, we ended 2022 with a significantly smaller imbalance, thanks to the attractiveness of the Polish offer and an impressive, double-digit growth in exports to US$449 million in 2022, from US$298 million previously. The Republic was the second-biggest market for Polish products in Asean.

With new partnerships, increased awareness of Poland’s export offer, and our strong manufacturing base, as well as better understanding of the region by Polish entrepreneurs, I am optimistic about further growth of our trade relations, underpinned by Poland’s solid economic standing.

Other opportunities also lie in traditionally strong maritime ties, as well as in sectors such as med-tech and lifestyle. Meanwhile, keen interest in the food trade continues. The sector formed a relatively small part of bilateral trade in 2022, with advanced manufacturing products representing the main categories.

Digital economy partners

I see the greatest potential for cooperation in the areas where Poland has intrinsic strengths, in particular in the high-tech and IT sectors. Software development, cybersecurity and IT products, software and services are Poland’s “house specialities”, and make us an excellent partner for Singapore, especially given our large ICT cluster and data-centre experience.

More exchanges and joint projects can also be expected in the space sector, based on the recent memorandum of understanding concluded by the Polish Space Technology Cluster (KTK) with Singapore Space and Technology (SSTL) on cooperation in business matching, research and development projects, and knowledge and experience transfer.

We can already sense the trend, with services exports – mainly in the IT sector – more than trebling between 2015 and 2020. Poland has been participating in Singapore-based tech events such as Cloud Expo Asia and the Singapore Fintech Festival, and the majority of the almost 2,000 highly-skilled Polish professionals in Singapore are employed in IT, STEM or management jobs, which fosters technological and scientific cooperation.

Therefore, under the recently concluded EU-Singapore Digital Partnership, Polish entities would be excellent counterparts for pilot projects, any phase of the initiatives.

Shared goals

Sharing a commitment to rules-based order, Poland and Singapore have also been working together not only in the domain of economics, but also on multilateral issues. Guided by shared principles, we have worked closely in multilateral fora, including those held by the UN and the Asia-Europe Foundation, as well as those related to the advancement of the EU-Asean Strategic Partnership, which concluded last year.

Like Singapore, Poland supports a rules-based international order, and stands against its violations, such as Russia’s unprovoked aggression on our neighbour – Ukraine. We greatly appreciate Singapore’s principled stand and broad support for the beleaguered country, as well as the actions undertaken by the international community towards achieving a “just and lasting peace” – and not just “any peace” – in Ukraine.

Last year, Poland’s presence in the front pages of Singapore’s press emerged mostly through this lens. Poland, and Poles all over the world, have been immensely involved in helping to ameliorate the effects of the conflict, energising the international community, and generating political, military, humanitarian and economic support for Ukraine, which is defending its territory, and the principles of the UN Chapter.

One year after the invasion, Poland has emerged as a humanitarian champion, redirecting more than 1.5 per cent of its gross domestic product (or over eight billion euros) to affected Ukrainians, and hosting over two million Ukrainian refugees while assisting 10 million people overall to leave the war-torn country.

Thinking of tomorrow

While we focus on today, we must also think of tomorrow. The whole spectrum of Polish society, including its businesses, is involved in assistance efforts, ranging from ensuring safety of energy infrastructure and communications networks to preparing for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Projects include solutions to back up Ukrainian mobile telecommunications traffic in case infrastructure is hit – these were developed by Polish telco Exatel. The company’s management recently visited Singapore to explore cooperation opportunities.

Polish companies, with their links and proximity to Ukraine, will also be at the forefront of international involvement in the country’s reconstruction, rebuilding cities and infrastructure and supporting its economic recovery. 

Given Singapore’s expertise in smart cities and urban solutions, I see space for bilateral cooperation in this respect. It is worth the effort to start building partnerships now.

The experience of the last few years has shown how beneficial it is to reach beyond the country’s traditional partners. I am glad to see that Poland and the broader Central and Eastern Europe region – with which Singapore historically has not had close ties with – are now increasingly seen as reliable, proven partners with sound business opportunities.

Magdalena Bogdziewicz

Ambassador of Poland to Singapore