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In Pole position
It has been a big week for Poland and the Middle East. On Monday, the latest of a long line of dignitaries, Saudi Arabia's HRH King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, arrived in Warsaw, where his delegation spent two productive days strengthening crucial trade ties between the two booming nations. Agreements were signed, and Saudi Foreign Minister HRH Prince Saud al Faisal echoed the thoughts of other Middle East governments when he said: "It will be an impulse for Saudi companies... to invest in Poland. Without any doubt, the trade exchange between the two countries will grow."
Between East and West, lies Eastern Europe, and the advantage of Poland is that it not only offers Middle East companies a route into the EU, but it also acts as a gateway to the rest of Eastern Europe. It is one of the region's most progressive business environments, and this is reflected in the Middle East's rapidly increasing dealings with Poland. Last year, for example, the value of trade between Poland and the Middle East broke the US$660m barrier.
First impressions might suggest that Poland is relatively new to the Middle East - after all, only relatively recently has the country established embassies in Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Beirut and Doha. Yet this would be a mistaken assumption. In fact, Poland's relationship with the region goes back a long way, and was particularly strong in the Soviet era, when the Polish state and the USSR had strong ties with the socialist regimes of many Middle East nations.
In 2007, however, the race is on to turn past ideological ties into present business ones.
"We are in a process of re-education - we must seek to rebuild the cooperation and the turnovers that traditionally existed between Poland and some Middle East nations," Jan Rafalowski, Ministry of Economics adviser to the Foreign Relations Office of the Polish Chamber of Commerce (PCC), explains to Arabian Business. "The Middle East is a key growth region for Polish companies, and one for which our approach needs to be particularly precisely formulated," he continues. "We are encouraging Polish companies and analysing the opportunities that exist for them in the Arab world, and educating newly-established companies."
The PCC is an umbrella organisation that represents the interests of over 500,000 Polish companies, the majority of which are small and medium-sized businesses. It has been responsible, so far, for two Polish-Arab Economic Forums, and is charged with helping Polish companies to develop trade ties abroad, by training them how to approach potential foreign partners, and organising special events such as the ‘Polish Business Day' held in Kuwait last November 2006.
"After the transformation, everybody could start making business abroad, but their knowledge was very limited," Rafalowski continues. "That's why Polish companies badly need training, and badly need to get acquainted with specifics of foreign relations, economic relations and trade relations."
The PCC is clearly doing something right - bilateral trade between the UAE and Poland soared by 52% in 2006, to over US$300m. This has been further boosted by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries, and in November, Dubai is to host a significant Poland-UAE trade exhibition with the aim of strengthening trade ties. The Polish Business Days Exhibition will showcase as many as 100 companies from the Eastern European nation, across several key industry sectors, and take place under the patronage of HE Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of Economy.
"Polish companies are doing very well exporting to the UAE market, but it's still a market for the few who know about it," Jerzy Karaim, president of organisers Polexpo Exhibitions, tells Arabian Business, adding that the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries has further enhanced their relationship.
"The aim of this event is to promote Polish companies on the UAE market, and across the whole GCC area," Karaim continues. "We will feature exporters from all sectors of the Polish economy, from heavy industry to furniture manufacturers and foodstuff suppliers."
Poland is already well represented in the UAE, through furniture brands including MDD and PFK, and heavy industry companies such as Polimex, a building company that supplies cranes, utilities pipelines and forklift trucks to the Emirates. Polish bus manufacturer Solaris recently announced a deal with Dubai Municipality for the provision of 225 vehicles. In addition, the company is in negotiations with Abu Dhabi Municipality to supply another batch of 225 buses for the capital.
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