We were guided by our mission while working on this special edition. When we took a close look at available statistics concerning Polish-Israeli economic relations, we were struck by the evident lack of symmetry. On the one hand, there is so much that Poles and Jews have in common in terms of cultural and civilisational heritage. On the other, in present market realities, the size of the respective markets and profit-and-loss calculations appear to matter more than past sentiments.
Poland’s transition from communism to market economy and the regaining of full independence in 1989 produced a new quality in Polish-Israeli relations. In a spirit of enthusiasm on both sides and to make up for lost time, a number of grand projects were developed, often with government backing. But reality started to bite. The ups and downs of the Middle East peace process and the world recession, which also had an impact on Poland, reduced the scope of Polish-Israeli economic cooperation. In the past few years two-way trade has grown at a slower pace than expected. However, analysts agree that a solid foundation for future ties has been laid.
More and more Israeli investors, as well as Jewish investors from other countries, appear to be lured by the Polish capital market. Direct investment keeps pouring in. Things picked up significantly after Poland joined the European Union. Many on the Israeli side appreciate the fact that fresh opportunities have opened up. They regard Poland as an ideal springboard onto the lucrative Euroland market. There has also been a lot of interest in the advantages offered by the current broadscale national infrastructure development programme in Poland, assisted by vast amounts of EU funding. The several hundred billion euros to be invested here in the next six years should revolutionise Poland’s transport and communications infrastructure. A grand environmental programme is being launched to revitalize this part of Europe. As a result, nowhere else in Europe can business involvement bring higher profits. There is room for many more big investors, as well as small businesses, who will all be able to tap the exciting opportunities offered by the Polish market.
In the next few years Polish-Israeli economic contacts can be expected to pick up, if only because the two economies dovetail in a way that seems ideal to match Poland’s development needs. There is a great need to modernise the Polish economy through large injections of high tech. The existing advantages of post-communist economies, such as vast resources of highly skilled and cheap manpower, as well as easy access to raw materials and resources, are being rapidly exhausted. The key to the future lies in innovation, both in terms of state-of-the-art technologies and management solutions. I guess we don’t need to explain why Israeli partners hold the keys to Poland’s development, and what rewards lie in store for those who do take the plunge.
In this edition of “Polish Market” we bring you a wealth of offers presented by individual Polish companies, organizations, regions and cities. The interest on the Polish side appears huge, which we are happy to say bodes very well for the future for Polish-Israeli and Polish-Jewish relations. Because what better way is there to bring people together than the possibility of doing good business?