Countries which identify and define changes in industries the quickest in the post-coronavirus economy will have real advantages, says Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development Jarosław Gowin Gowin, who is also the development, labor and technology minister, announced last week that Poland needed to switch from low-cost competitiveness to industry driven by innovation, quality and know-how. He added that the new industrial model will be based on domestic resources and solutions, with the aim of developing technologically advanced and competitive production.
In the interview for Polish Press Agency, Gowin stated that through multifaceted analysis, the development ministry plans to choose the industries, technologies and products in which Poland can achieve competitive advantages, as well as develop specific support tools. He explained that his ministry will conduct industrial policy in close cooperation with business. The starting point will be a white paper which will be developed through cooperation with entrepreneurs. The ministry expects thousands of proposals, and a team of 11 experts has begun work simultaneously. Gowin announced a “3 times PL” scheme to boost national industry and commercial research, and said that advanced industrial production is a precondition of higher living standards. “If the living standards of Poles are to rise, a necessary condition will be our own industry — an industry that is strong, innovative and competitive,” Gowin said.
According to Gowin, the post-coronavirus economy will look much different and advantages will be gained by those countries which identify and act on these changes the quickest. “It is too early to prejudge which industry sectors will have strategic meaning in the post-pandemic reality. Consultations and parallel analysis of the potential of the Polish economy will serve to define those sectors,” he said. Gowin also promised that export and foreign economic expansion will be supported by the new policy. He added that opinions concerning when the pandemic will be over are divided, which is why the ministry cannot delay work on the new industrial policy and must be prepared to start in the third quarter.
