News about Poland

Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng encouraged Polish businesses to expand investment in renewable energy, railways, shipbuilding and other sectors in Vietnam, at a business roundtable held in Hanoi on October 26, shortly after the two countries upgraded relations to Strategic Partnership. Poland is Vietnam's largest trade partner in Central and Eastern Europe and the 36th largest foreign investor in Vietnam. Bilateral trade reached nearly $4 billion last year, up nearly 15% from 2024, and nearly $3.5 billion in the first nine months of this year, up 19%. The two sides aim to raise trade to $6 billion by 2030, and LOT Polish Airlines will resume direct Warsaw-Hanoi flights from March 31, 2027.

Poland has said it is ready to host additional foreign nuclear deterrent components on its territory, including tactical or strategic nuclear weapons from the United States or France, as part of reinforcing NATO's eastern flank. Hosting them would require major upgrades to military infrastructure, including secure underground storage, a security command centre and multi-layered air and missile defence. Poland plans to use the F-35A stealth fighter, bought from the US, as a potential nuclear-capable delivery platform. Russia and Belarus have criticised the move, and Russia has previously warned that NATO nuclear sites near its border would become priority targets in a direct conflict, while analysts argue Poland's pursuit of a nuclear role will heighten regional tensions.

Russia and Kazakhstan are selling part of their central-bank gold reserves, while Poland continues to buy more. Russia's gold reserves fell by about 6.2 tonnes in September, bringing the total reduction since January to about 62 tonnes; only once before, in 1998, did it sell at a similar pace, disposing of 118 tonnes over three months. Expert Adam Stroniawski attributes this to a budget shortfall from the war in Ukraine, and notes that around 100 tonnes of Russian gold reached Hong Kong from January to July, nearly three times the same period last year. Kazakhstan plans to cut gold's share of its total reserves from around 78% to 75% by year-end, possibly to plug a budget deficit or for profit-taking. The expert sees these transactions as unlikely to significantly affect the global gold market, and says Poland is unlikely to sell reserves during the current parliamentary term.