Political Relations

Türkiye-Poland relations have always been friendly since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1414, except for rare occasions of war.

Poland was one of the first countries who recognized the Turkish Republic through the Friendship Agreement signed one day before the signature of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.

Türkiye’s support for Poland’s membership to NATO in 1999 and Poland’s support for Türkiye’s EU accession process boosted political relations.

Bilateral relations were elevated to the level of strategic partnership with the signature of the “Declaration on Turkish-Polish Strategic Partnership” in 2009. Both sides agreed on the establishment of a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council in the near future.

Frequent high-level visits contribute to political dialogue with Poland. President Andrzej Duda paid an official visit on 24-25 May 2021 and a working visit on 16 March 2022 to Türkiye. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Prof. Mustafa Şentop visited Poland on 17 October 2017 and on 30 November -2 December 2021, respectively.

Foreign Minister Zbignew Rau visited Türkiye on 27 May 2022 on the occasion of the Foreign Ministerial meeting of Türkiye-Romania-Poland Trilateral Cooperation mechanism and held a bilateral meeting with Minister Çavuşoğlu. Minister Rau also participated in the 1st Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which was held on 18-20 June 2021. Minister Çavuşoğlu paid a visit to Poland on 4-5 October 2021 for bilateral talks and to attend the 8th Warsaw Security Forum.

Economic Relations

Source: T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı (million Dolar)

Main export items: motor vehicles and its parts, tractors, rods and profiles made of aluminum, textiles and ready-made clothing, fresh fruits and vegetables, white goods

Main import items: Machinery, mechanical devices and tools, motor vehicles, electrical machinery and devices, iron and steel, chemicals, cosmetics, furniture

Our joint target for bilateral trade volume with Poland has been set at 10 billion dollars. Bilateral trade volume increased 28% in 2021 and reached 8.3 billion dollars. In the first 10 months of 2022, this figure was recorded as 8.1 million dollars.

Direct investments from Poland to Türkiye during 2002-2022 September have amounted to 37 million Dollars. Turkish direct investments in Poland in the same period have been 113 million Dollars. Currently, 156 Polish companies are active in Türkiye.

Turkish contracting companies have undertaken 59 projects worth 4.6 billion dollars in Poland so far. With this figure, Poland has become the largest market of our overseas contracting sector in Europe and second largest globally. 9 projects in technical consultancy services worth 5.7 billion dollars were assumed.

The 5th session of the Türkiye-Poland Regular Economic Consultation Mechanism was held in Ankara on 12 September 2022, under the co-chairmanship of Türkiye’s Minister of Trade and Poland’s Minister of Economic Development and Technology. On the margins of the meeting, a round table was organized by DEİK with the participation of business people from both countries.

Polish citizens have been able to visit Türkiye with an ID card since April 19, 2022. As of October 2022, almost 1.1 million Polish tourists visited Türkiye.

Cultural, Educational and Consular Relations

As a reflection of our friendly relations with Poland over 600 years, various mutual projects are carried out in the cultural field. In this context, we are working on the restitution of the Turkish House in the Lazienki Park in Warsaw and the construction of a Turkish-Polish Friendship Fountain in Kraków.

Warsaw University, Krakow Jagiellonian University and Poznan Adam Mickiewicz University each houses a Turcology department. Two Turkish lecturers appointed by the Inter-Ministerial Joint Cultural Commission are working in these departments.

Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Centre in Warsaw contributes to enhancement of cultural relations through various activities.

Poland is the top destination for Turkish students studying abroad under Erasmus+ program while Polish students are the fifth largest group preferring Türkiye. In the period 2014-2021, 29,921 Turkish students and 2,447 Polish students studied in our respective countries.

The number of Turkish citizens registered in the Turkish Embassy in Warsaw is above 16,000. We estimate that around 25,000 Turkish citizens are living in Poland, including students under Erasmus+ program.

In addition to our Embassy in Warsaw, we have Honorary Consulates General in Kraków, Poznan, Wroclaw and Lodz.

Poland has an Embassy in Ankara, Consulate General in Istanbul and Honorary Consulates in Antalya, Bursa, Gaziantep, and İzmir.