Martin K Despite Africa’s growing global significance, Poland has remained largely peripheral to developments on the continent. Historically constrained by post-WWII, post-Soviet reconstruction and a geopolitical focus on Eastern Europe, Poland has lacked a coherent Africa policy. However, increasing humanitarian aid, student exchanges, and civil society cooperation suggest the early signs of a diplomatic and economic reawakening. This piece examines Poland’s evolving engagement with Africa, analyzes the historical neglect, identifies areas of emerging cooperation, and proposes strategic policy interventions to foster a more balanced and reciprocal relationship. By applying a hybrid theoretical lens that combines Constructivism and Liberal International Political Economy (IPE), the paper argues that Poland has both moral and strategic incentives to intensify its presence on the continent. It then uses policy documents, academic literature, and firsthand experience to offer a fresh perspective on Eastern Europe’s role in Global South diplomacy.
Missed Connections in a Globalized
At the beginning of 2024, Poland pledged 1 million euros in humanitarian aid to Sudan amidst ongoing civil conflict, an act that startled observers unfamiliar with Poland’s understated humanitarian diplomacy (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2024). While Poland is the sixth-largest economy in the European Union, its foreign policy has rarely focused on Africa. France, Germany, and the United Kingdom maintain enduring economic, military, and cultural ties with African nations rooted in their colonial pasts. Poland, by contrast, lacks such historical entanglement, but also lacks a comprehensive strategic vision for Africa. Yet subtle shifts are underway. The rise in African students in Polish universities, the opening of embassies, and growing NGO and civil society activities on the continent all suggest the early stages of policy evolution. Africa’s rapid demographic growth, economic dynamism, and role in global governance demand greater engagement from countries like Poland that have traditionally remained on the sidelines.
When Constructivism meets Liberal IPE
Adopting a hybrid theoretical approach, combining Constructivism and Liberal International Political Economy (Liberal IPE), will help us to examine Poland’s evolving engagement with Africa in this reflection. Constructivism emphasizes how foreign policy is shaped not only by material interests but also by social norms, collective memory, and identity (Wendt, 1999). In the context of Poland, its non-colonial history, religious humanitarianism, and moral framing of international aid illustrate the social construction of foreign policy goals. Poland does not approach Africa with imperial baggage; rather, it frames its engagement in terms of solidarity and shared development.
Liberal IPE, on the other hand, stresses mutual economic benefit through trade, open markets, and institutional cooperation (Keohane & Nye, 2001). Poland’s growing interest in African markets for agricultural machinery, food processing, and educational technology, combined with its participation in EU migration compacts and Erasmus+ academic mobility programs, shows how liberal principles are embedded in Poland’s pragmatic outreach. Together, these frameworks allow for a comprehensive analysis of a relationship shaped by both normative commitments and economic opportunity.
Historical Snapshot: Poland’s Post-Soviet Struggles Distance from Africa
Poland’s limited engagement with Africa has deep historical roots, shaped by its geopolitical position and internal priorities after World War II. Unlike Western European powers such as France, the United Kingdom, and to a lesser extent Germany—whose colonial legacies entangled them directly in African political and economic systems—Poland emerged from the war as a devastated nation under Soviet influence, with little capacity or motivation to pursue overseas engagements (Davies, 2005). Throughout the Cold War, Polish foreign policy was mainly East-focused, centered on alignment with the Soviet bloc and managing relations within the Warsaw Pact. Its international ambitions were limited by the needs of post-war rebuilding, ideological conformity, and dependence on Moscow’s centralized foreign policy decisions (Sanford, 2002).
In contrast, former colonial countries in Western Europe maintained lasting connections with African nations through political influence, economic trade routes, military interventions, and development aid channels, many of which were formalized through organizations like the Commonwealth, La Francophonie, or the Lomé Conventions (Mawdsley, 2015). These networks allowed countries such as France and the UK to build ongoing relationships with African elites, often reinforcing neocolonial power structures. Poland, by comparison, lacked such historical or structural ties.
Nonetheless, Poland’s post-war internationalism was not wholly absent from Africa. As part of its soft diplomacy, Polish civil society actors—particularly Catholic missionaries, technical experts, and medical professionals- engaged in humanitarian and educational initiatives in several African countries. Organizations such as the Polish Medical Mission and Caritas Polska participated in health, education, and development projects in countries like Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia (Chodor, 2020). Moreover, during the Cold War, Poland hosted students from African countries aligned with the socialist bloc, especially from Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia, as part of ideological solidarity and educational diplomacy (Mickiewicz Institute, 2019). While these efforts were never state-dominant or strategically integrated into a foreign policy framework, they reflected a thread of Poland–Africa interaction driven by people-to-people cooperation rather than geopolitical calculus.
Ultimately, the absence of a colonial legacy meant Poland had neither the burden nor the bridge of historical entanglement in Africa. While this limited its initial presence on the continent, it now provides a potential advantage: the ability to engage African partners without the shadows of imperialism. The question remains whether Poland is prepared to capitalize on this neutral historical standing to forge a modern, mutually beneficial relationship.
Poland’s Africa Footprint Today: Small But Growing
In recent years, Poland has signaled a cautious but deliberate intention to expand its engagement with African nations. Although still limited in scope and ambition, Poland’s Africa footprint is growing across key domains including diplomacy, education, humanitarian aid, and trade. This emergent presence, while modest in comparison to more established European actors, suggests a new phase of foreign policy diversification and international visibility.
As of 2025, Poland maintains fewer than ten embassies across the African continent, including in Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and, most recently, Senegal (Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2024). This sparse diplomatic network reflects the historically peripheral role Africa has played in Polish foreign policy. However, the gradual opening of new missions, particularly in West and East Africa—signals a growing recognition of the continent’s strategic importance in the global south.
High-level visits have also gained momentum in recent years, suggesting a shift from symbolic diplomacy toward more substantive engagement. Notably, in 2024, Former President Andrzej Duda undertook a landmark visit to East Africa, including Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania, where he met with heads of state and addressed forums on trade, defense cooperation, and historical memory (Office of the President, 2024). His trip, described as part of a broader campaign to strengthen Poland’s visibility in the Global South, marked the first such presidential visit to Rwanda and underscored Poland’s interest in emerging markets and regional stability. Parallel to this, the Polish Foreign Minister visited Addis Ababa and Nairobi in the same year to explore security cooperation and investment frameworks, particularly in green energy and digital infrastructure (PISM, 2023).
Moreover, African diplomats are increasingly invited to Warsaw-hosted forums such as the Poland–Africa Economic Forum and the Warsaw Dialogue on Development, both platforms aimed at cultivating South–South partnerships within EU structures. While Poland still operates in a largely reactive mode in African diplomacy—often responding to crises or EU initiatives, these institutional gestures reflect a budding shift toward a more structured and autonomous diplomatic presence on the continent.
Education & Migration: Knowledge as a Bridge
One of the more visible outcomes of Poland–Africa engagement lies in the sphere of education. The number of African students in Polish universities has grown significantly since 2020, driven by the relative affordability of Polish higher education and its increasing visibility in international education rankings (GUS, 2024). According to government data, over 8,000 students from sub-Saharan Africa were enrolled in Polish higher education institutions by 2024, with Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Rwanda among the top sending countries (OECD, 2024).
This educational mobility fosters long-term people-to-people ties and creates informal diplomatic channels. Alumni networks and cultural associations, such as the Association of African Students in Poland, have become platforms for dialogue, entrepreneurship, and cultural exchange, deepening bilateral social capital beyond state-level interaction (Mazur, 2023).
Humanitarian Aid: A Quiet but Meaningful Role
Poland’s humanitarian engagement in Africa, though often overlooked, has become more structured and responsive in recent years. In early 2025, Poland pledged €1 million in humanitarian assistance to Sudan amid escalating conflict, channeled through the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and bilateral frameworks (European Commission, 2025). Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH), a leading NGO, has also operated in South Sudan and Somalia, providing emergency food, medical care, and water and sanitation projects.
These efforts reflect Poland’s increasing use of humanitarian aid as a soft power tool, aligning with broader EU goals while simultaneously signaling independent moral leadership. However, such engagement remains project-based rather than policy-driven, lacking a long-term humanitarian strategy for Africa (Chodor, 2020).
Trade & Investment: Untapped Potential
Despite Africa’s rising economic profile, Poland’s trade volume with African countries remains marginal relative to its EU counterparts. In 2023, Poland–Africa trade stood at just over €4.3 billion, accounting for less than 2% of Poland’s global trade (GUS, 2024). Key exports include agricultural machinery, dairy products, and pharmaceuticals, while imports are largely composed of raw materials and tropical agricultural products.
Yet the potential is significant. Polish companies specializing in agri-tech, logistics, and affordable pharmaceuticals are well-positioned to meet growing African market demands. For instance, East Africa’s rising need for food processing infrastructure could be matched by Polish expertise in small-scale machinery and cold chain logistics (Kowalski & Rutkowski, 2023). A structured Poland–Africa economic strategy could thus open mutually beneficial opportunities in sustainable development and innovation.
Missed Opportunities: Why this relationship remains dormant?
Despite gradual signals of engagement, Poland’s relationship with Africa remains largely dormant. This stagnation is not due to hostility or indifference, but rather the result of structural and strategic limitations within Polish foreign policy, compounded by minimal public awareness and a lack of institutional frameworks.
A. Geopolitical Distraction: A neighborhood-Centric Foreign Policy
Poland’s foreign policy remains overwhelmingly oriented toward its immediate geopolitical environment. As a frontline State bordering Ukraine, Belarus, and the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia, Poland’s strategic bandwidth is consumed by security issues in Eastern Europe, NATO commitments, and the evolving dynamics of EU integration (Zaborowski, 2022). Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Warsaw has become a central actor in EU defense and humanitarian responses, directing vast resources and political attention to its eastern neighborhood. In this context, Africa occupies a peripheral, if not entirely invisible, position in Poland’s strategic calculus.
This neighborhood-centric orientation reflects not only security imperatives but also institutional path dependency. Ministries and think tanks in Poland are overwhelmingly staffed by experts on Eastern Europe, transatlantic relations, and European law, while African expertise remains scarce and underfunded (Wojna, 2021). As a result, Africa is often viewed as an external EU responsibility rather than a direct arena for Polish strategic engagement.
B. Lack of an Africa-Specific Policy Framework
While countries like Germany and France have developed long-term frameworks for engagement with Africa, Poland lacks a comparable strategic doctrine. Germany’s “Marshall Plan with Africa”, introduced in 2017, outlines an ambitious approach to economic cooperation, youth empowerment, and governance support across the continent (BMZ, 2017). France, despite its postcolonial contradictions, has long operated an Africa-centric foreign policy shaped by linguistic, economic, and military ties, particularly in Francophone West and Central Africa (Charbonneau, 2020). Even smaller European countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands have forged deep relationships with African regions based on historical links or targeted aid initiatives.
In contrast, Poland’s Africa policy remains fragmented and reactive, driven primarily by EU mandates, development aid quotas, and episodic bilateral gestures. The absence of a cohesive Africa strategy limits Poland’s ability to coordinate trade, cultural diplomacy, academic exchange, or multilateral influence on the continent. Without a long-term vision, Poland-Africa engagement risks remain episodic and superficial.
C. Public Discourse & Media Silence
Another underappreciated obstacle to Poland–Africa relations is the near-complete absence of Africa from public discourse in Poland. Unlike Western Europe, where African Diasporas, development NGOs, and postcolonial debates shape public opinion and media narratives, Polish society has limited exposure to African issues. Mainstream media coverage of Africa is sparse, often limited to crisis reporting such as conflict, famine, or migration, while political debates rarely reference African States or actors (Kącki, 2023).
This vacuum in public discourse translates into a lack of societal pressure or academic demand for expertise in Africa-related policies. African studies departments remain underdeveloped, and few Polish universities offer specialized programs on African politics, history, or development. As a result, policymakers face little incentive to prioritize Africa, reinforcing the continent’s marginality in Poland’s national imagination.
Strategic Potential: Why it’s time to wake the dormant relationship
As global power dynamics evolve, Poland faces both the need and opportunity to reimagine its role in African affairs, not merely as a passive EU member but as an autonomous actor capable of forging mutually beneficial partnerships. Africa’s demographic, economic, and diplomatic transformations intersect with Poland’s own long-term strategic needs, including addressing labor market gaps, enhancing global visibility, and diversifying trade and migration policies.
A. Demographics: Converging Needs, Complementary Strengths
Africa is home to the world’s youngest population, with a median age of just under 20 years, and is projected to contribute over half of global population growth by 2050 (UN DESA, 2022). Meanwhile, Poland faces an accelerating demographic crisis marked by aging populations, declining fertility rates, and the emigration of skilled labor to Western Europe (OECD, 2023). These opposing demographic trajectories reveal space for a new kind of partnership, one centered on skills development, vocational exchange, and circular migration.
Targeted agreements with African Nations could support Poland’s labor market in sectors such as healthcare, logistics, agriculture, and IT, while offering African professionals high-quality training and legal mobility channels. In doing so, Poland could emulate Germany’s vocational cooperation models with North and West African states, adjusted to its own needs and capabilities (BMZ, 2021). This would move Polish–African relations beyond aid into a framework of co-development.
B. Trade Partnerships: A market of rising demand
Africa’s rising middle class and expanding urban markets signal long-term demand for goods and services where Poland holds competitive advantages. Sectors such as agri-food technology, agricultural machinery, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and digital education offer promising entry points (Kowalski & Rutkowski, 2023). Polish firms, often competitive in mid-tier industrial manufacturing, could find a comparative advantage in supplying affordable technologies suited to small- and medium-scale African markets.
For instance, Polish agri-tech companies could support African farmers in mechanization and post-harvest management, while energy firms could contribute to decentralized solar and biogas solutions, especially in rural zones. Educational technology, such as e-learning platforms developed in Polish universities, also presents avenues for scalable partnerships with African institutions seeking affordable digital education solutions (Mazur, 2023).
C. Migration Dialogue: From Border Control to Co-Development
Poland has traditionally approached African migration through a securitized, EU-centered lens. As a co-signatory of the EU’s migration compacts, it has aligned with the bloc’s strategy of border management and return mechanisms without advancing its bilateral frameworks (European Commission, 2021). This narrow approach misses the opportunity for structured mobility partnerships that benefit both sides.
By negotiating migration agreements with select African countries, focusing on student mobility, seasonal labor, and professional exchanges, Poland could enhance workforce flexibility while avoiding the pitfalls of irregular migration. A more balanced, proactive migration dialogue would allow Poland to shape its migration narrative, rather than remain a passive implementer of broader EU policy.
D. Multilateral Leverage & Post-Colonial Soft Power
Poland’s historical absence from colonialism offers a rare diplomatic asset: it can approach Africa without the baggage of imperial dominance. In a geopolitical landscape increasingly shaped by historical memory, this positions Poland as a neutral partner in African multilateralism. Engaging directly with the African Union (AU), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and pan-African youth and academic networks could enhance Poland’s visibility as a cooperative Global North actor.
By investing in shared multilateral initiatives, such as climate resilience, educational innovation, or peacekeeping training, Poland could gain soft power and amplify its influence in UN forums, where African countries constitute the largest regional voting bloc (UNGA, 2024). Strategic participation in post-colonial diplomacy, not driven by guilt but solidarity, could enable Poland to project global relevance beyond its traditional transatlantic sphere.
E. The role of Civil Society, Students & NGOs
While Poland’s official Africa policy remains limited, its civil society has played a quietly transformative role in shaping Poland–Africa relations from the ground up. Faith-based organizations, humanitarian NGOs, academic institutions, and the African diaspora have created people-to-people connections that often precede or even substitute state-level diplomacy.
Faith-based NGOs like Caritas Polska and Polska Fundacja dla Afryki have maintained consistent development operations across the continent. In 2024 alone, Caritas pledged PLN 1.3 million to support projects in water access, food security, and infrastructure in African countries, including Madagascar, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Senegal. This is part of a broader international budget that reached PLN 63 million in 2022, touching 46 countries, many of them in Africa. Similarly, Polska Akcja Humanitarna (PAH) continues to operate in countries such as South Sudan, Kenya, and Somalia, focusing on emergency response and long-term development. Though PAH does not disaggregate its African operations by exact annual figures, its programming typically receives several million złoty in combined public and private funding each year. The Salvatti Foundation, closely linked to Pallotin’s Catholic missions, and Polska Fundacja dla Afryki have funded education, youth, and medical initiatives across Rwanda, Cameroon, and Uganda, often operating with project budgets in the range of Millions of Zlotys.
Academic exchanges have also served as a vital soft power tool. Through NAWA scholarships, hundreds of African students have enrolled in Polish universities since 2020, primarily in medicine, engineering, international relations, and peace studies. The Erasmus+ program has extended Poland’s academic partnerships with universities in Ghana, Nigeria, Tunisia, and Ethiopia, with each collaboration typically funded at €50,000–150,000 per cycle. These programs do more than transfer knowledge; they build transnational alumni networks that often translate into professional and diplomatic channels between Poland and African states.
The growing African diaspora in cities like Warsaw, Kraków, and Lublin also plays an important bridging role. Comprising students, professionals, and second-generation Polish-Africans, this community organizes cultural festivals, academic discussions, and entrepreneurship forums, often with support from local civil society grants. While these efforts receive little national media coverage, they contribute to a rich, ground-level diplomacy and social integration that reflects the multicultural direction Poland may yet embrace.
Policy Recommendations: How to Build the Bridge
Poland should institutionalize its Africa engagement through several strategic measures. First, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should create a dedicated Africa Strategy Team to design and coordinate bilateral policy. Second, Poland should pursue bilateral education agreements, expanding student and youth mobility programs beyond EU-led efforts. Third, trade promotion agencies must support Polish–African business networks, focusing on sectors such as agriculture, digital education, and renewable energy.
Fourth, Poland could establish a fellowship program allowing Polish graduates to intern in African institutions. Finally, launching an annual Poland–Africa Dialogue Forum would provide a platform for sustained engagement between diplomats, scholars, entrepreneurs, and civil society leaders.
Conclusion: A Future not to be Missed
The Poland–Africa relationship has long been overlooked, relegated to the margins of foreign policy discourse. Nevertheless, as Africa becomes central to global development, innovation, and governance, Poland must rethink its global position. This paper has shown that there is both a normative and pragmatic case for deeper engagement, one rooted in non-colonial cooperation, shared demographic and economic needs, and the mobilization of civil society.
Whether through humanitarian aid, academic partnerships, or trade diplomacy, Poland has already built the foundations of a meaningful Africa strategy. What remains is the political will to recognize and invest in these connections. As someone who has stood at the intersection of these worlds, as a student, foreign citizen in Poland, and as a volunteer and advocate, I believe the time is now. Because, ultimately, diplomacy is not always about power.
“Diplomacy is not always about power. Sometimes, it’s about presence.”
