Poland’s invitation to take part in the December G20 summit in Miami is a major opportunity to promote the country internationally, including in Africa and South America, according to experts from the Sobieski Institute. It could also open the door to cooperation with Central Asian countries, which will also participate in the summit as guests. Analysts propose creating a so-called coalition of middle powers, aimed at strengthening cooperation between countries that, although smaller than most G20 members, want to gain greater agency in the global order.
“The invitation to attend the G20 summit in Miami is a major distinction for Poland. It shows and recognizes that we are the world’s 20th-largest economy, that we have a lot to offer, and that other countries can learn from our experience. We are the leader of our region, we have unique experience, including in political transformation, and we can also point to rapid economic growth. Hopefully, this is a step toward Poland’s permanent membership in the G20,” says Dr. Agnieszka Rymsza, a sociologist and co-author of the report, in an interview with Newseria.
On September 3, 2025, President Karol Nawrocki received an invitation to the G20 summit from U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House. In 2019, President Andrzej Duda took part in a G20 summit. Formally, Poland is close to 20th place in the global ranking. According to the report “Poland in the G20 – This Is Only the Beginning,” prepared by the Sobieski Institute and citing the International Monetary Fund database updated in October 2025, Poland’s GDP in 2026 will reach USD 1.04 trillion. This would place the country 20th among the world’s economies, just behind Saudi Arabia and ahead of Switzerland.
“The G20 is not only a goal in itself. It is also a springboard for Poland’s further development. If we treat the G20 as an objective, joining and participating in this group creates the need to develop the entire country, both economically and politically,” says Dr. Rymsza. “In recent years, the G20 has become not only an economic forum but also a political one — a place for debating the most important economic and political issues in the world. We can not only listen and learn, but above all influence global decisions.”
This also matters for the region, as Central and Eastern Europe has so far not been represented in the G20 forum.
“Participation in G20 summits, and membership in this forum, would be a major opportunity for Poland to promote itself internationally, also on other continents, such as Africa and South America, where it has not been very present so far. Such summits create many bilateral and other meetings where we can promote our experience and what we can offer the world economically. They also provide access to discussions on globally important topics. As a member of the G20, we would not merely be recipients of global decisions, but would have influence over them,” the sociologist explains.
According to experts from the Sobieski Institute, after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Poland’s experience became an important element in discussions about international stability, sanctions and energy security. In addition, Poland is actively involved within NATO, including efforts to increase defence spending and strengthen the Alliance’s eastern flank.
“Because we are on NATO’s eastern flank, on the border with Russia, Belarus and, above all, Ukraine, where a war is taking place, we have learned a great deal in recent years about security. We are also a hub for delivering aid to Ukraine, as most of it passes through Poland. We also have a lot to offer in terms of how a border country functions. What matters to the world today is that we remain secure and protect not only ourselves, but also Europe as a whole as a border state,” Dr. Rymsza emphasizes.
The authors of the Sobieski Institute report argue that Poland should treat the G20 as an instrument for pursuing the country’s strategic interests. They stress that it is a platform that naturally creates opportunities to seek allies on specific issues among other countries. One of the initiatives proposed by the experts is the creation of a global coalition of middle powers.
“The coalition we propose in the report would focus on improving communication between countries with medium-level potential. These are not great powers such as the United States, China or India, but on the other hand they are not small countries completely deprived of agency in the new international ecosystem,” explains Radosław Pyffel, Sobieski Institute expert on international politics and Asia and co-author of the report. “By participating in the G20 format, Poland will have the opportunity to establish contact with middle powers such as South Korea, Australia, Turkey and Mexico. These are countries with very different experiences, political cultures and representing different continents, but at the same time they are interested in the same thing as Poland: gaining agency over what is happening in today’s world.”
As he emphasizes, this does not mean abandoning regional cooperation forums such as the Three Seas Initiative, the Visegrad Group or the Bucharest Nine. In the expert’s view, however, Poland — given its size and ambitions — should also seek allies in a broader group.
“This coalition would be a new format, complementing those that already exist and will continue to function with varying degrees of effectiveness and intensity,” Pyffel explains.
U.S. President Donald Trump invited not only Poland to the upcoming G20 summit, but also Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. According to the report’s authors, both countries play an important role in Eurasian transport connections, the transit of energy resources and access to critical raw materials.
“We hope that together with these countries we will be able to develop an agenda focused primarily on transport issues and the corridor running from Asia to Europe. These countries have a vital interest in its development, and Poland lies on the route of this transport corridor from the Pacific to Western Europe,” says the Sobieski Institute expert on international politics and Asia.
The report’s authors point out that Poland shares a common past with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as countries once linked to the Eastern Bloc, as well as ties through the Polish diaspora.
“The G20 is a natural opportunity to refresh these relationships,” Radosław Pyffel concludes.
