India, Poland sign pact for cultural cooperation programme

New Delhi, Sep. 7 (ANI): India and Poland on Tuesday signed an agreement for cultural cooperation programme.

Representing the Indian side the Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Jawhar Sircar and Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jacek Najder, who represented Poland, signed the agreement for a Cooperation Programme between the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland and Ministry of Culture of the Republic of India for the Year 2010-13.

Having spent the first day of his three-day State visit in Bangalore, Tusk arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday morning.

Today, the Polish Prime Minister held delegation level talks with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and called on President Pratibha Patil.

After his meeting with Dr. Singh, the two sides inked a pact to enhance cultural exchanges between India and Poland.

On Monday, Ministry of External Affairs' official spokesperson Vishnu Prakash while briefing reporters about the ongoing three-day State visit of Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk, said: "India-Poland relations are deep-rooted. Both the countries have been traditionally close and friendly and these contacts have been nurtured by regular people-to-people exchanges and close cultural interactions which date back to the 15th century."

He said the Polish people have always evinced interest in Indian culture, spirituality and traditions. Polish scholars have been visiting India over the centuries to study Sanskrit, religion, philosophy; and some Sanskrit classics have been translated into Polish.

The spokesperson informed that the first Chair of Sanskrit studies was established in Krakow more than a century ago in 1893. The Indology Department in the Oriental Institute of the University of Warsaw has been functioning since 1932.

"Our Indian Council for Cultural Relations has been supporting the Chair and been sending teachers for Hindi and Tamil. Chairs on Indian studies have also been established in other cities of Poland. Similarly, Polish is being taught in Delhi University since 2009," he said and further added that the diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1954, and the ties have flourished over the decades.

Donald Tusk is the first non-communist Polish Prime Minister to visit India on an official trip. (ANI)