Poland in Kenya

Historical outline 

In November 1973, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Madagascar, Didier Ratsiraka, visited Poland. During it, a decision was made to establish diplomatic relations between Poland and Madagascar - a joint communique on this matter was announced on November 28, 1973 simultaneously in both capitals - Warsaw and Antananarivo, and in 1975 the first ambassador of the Polish People's Republic, Julian Twaróg, permanently accredited to Tanzania, presented his credentials to President Ramanantsoa. Currently, the Republic of Madagascar remains under the territorial competence of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Nairobi. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of this event, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of both countries, prof. Bronisław Geremek and Lila Hanitra Ratsifandrihamanana exchanged letters of congratulations at the end of 1998. In 1998, an honorary consulate was opened in Antananarivo, headed by honorary consul Dr. Zbigniew Kasprzyk. In 2016, the first ever visit of the Polish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs to Madagascar took place. Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joanna Wronecka, took part in the 16th Summit of Francophonie Countries. Min Wronecka also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Madagascar, Beatrice Attallah.

The Republic of Madagascar, with a GDP per capita of just over $500, belongs to low-inocme countries. Despite relative political stability and the lack of internal conflicts, short periods of economic growth are interspersed with long periods of recession. Economically, Madagascar is highly exposed to external shocks, including due to its dependence on external financing, tourism, and export. In addition, its economy is poorly diversified - it is based primarily on agriculture, and in recent years the mining industry has gained importance. The services sector is underdeveloped, which mainly includes tourism and tourism-related services. The internal political crisis in 2010 and the COVID-19 pandemic were major blows to the Malagasy economy. In recent years, Madagascar has recorded positive economic indicators: growing GDP, trade volume, and the level of foreign investment. Major obstacles to Madagascar's development include: non-tariff barriers to market access, corruption, poorly developed transport, energy and communication infrastructure and low level of education.

According to data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS) for 2022, the Republic of Madagascar is Poland's 136th partner in terms of trade. In trade with Madagascar, Poland records a negative trade balance. In 2022, Polamd exported goods to Madagascar with a total value of EUR 14.9 million, compared to EUR 2.2 million in 2021. In 2022, Poland imported goods from Madagascar for a total amount of EUR 16.8 million (compared to EUR 11.1 million in 2021), mainly clothing and agricultural products, including primarily vanilla.

As part of the promotion of Polish culture in Madagascar, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Nairobi took part in the European Film Festival in 2018. The memory of Maurycy Beniowski, who stayed in Madagascar in the second half of the 18th century, and Arkady Fidler, who visited the Island twice, is also alive on the Island, in 1937 and in 1965-66. Both Poles have their own streets in the country's capital, as well as plaques commemorating them.

Since 2016, every year several students from Madagascar undertake second and third level studies in Poland in technical fields, as part of a scholarship from the Polish Committee for UNESCO. Malagasy monks and clergy are also educated in Poland at the University of Stefan Wyszyński and in seminars. Currently, no Polish citizens are studying in Madagascar.

Recognition of academic qualifications

In Madagascar operates the only one Polish organization within the Nairobi consular disctrict. The POLka Association was founded in 2006. It gathers about 30 members of the Malagasy-Polish community. Mr. Albert Zięba is the current President of POLka.