E

ven before Poland jointly staged the 2012 Euro Cup with Ukraine, the country had been famous as a dark horse in European and world soccer. Players such as Arkadiusz Milik and Sebastian Mila were just a few who became the talk of mostly male soccer lovers.

However, today more and more women are becoming familiar with Poland thanks to Inglot, the halal-certified nail polish that stormed Muslim markets about two years ago.

Freelance Canadian journalist Maria Kari wrote in a blog that she had discussed the halal-certified nail polish with an Islamic scholar and had received '€œa politely non-judgmental-manner answer'€. In the end, just like many Muslim women, Kari was among those celebrating this cosmetics product as a way to embrace the Islamic lifestyle.

'€œSo this is why Inglot'€™s halal-certified nail polish comes as a welcome, oil-tanker-sized source of joy for me,'€ she wrote.

Company founder Wojciech Inglot was '€surprised and happy'€ that his nail polish was well accepted in the Muslim community, cosmeticsdesign.com reported.

Inglot is one of many products Poland is ready to offer, including to the untapped Indonesian markets, according to Piotr Switalski, director of the Asia and Pacific Department of Poland'€™s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During a meeting with visiting Indonesian journalists at his office in Warsaw on Tuesday, he explained that in the past four years, trade between the two countries '€” which celebrate their 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year '€” have doubled, but '€œPoland bought more from Indonesia than the other way around'€.

In 2011, Polish exports to Indonesia totaled Rp 1.1 trillion (US$82 million), while its imports reached Rp 6.6 trillion. Poland sold machinery, military equipment, weapons and chemicals to Indonesia, while Indonesia exported coal, rubber, wooden furniture, crude palm oil and other agricultural products.

Meanwhile, Polish investment in Indonesia reached $7 million in electronics and intermodal containers, while their investments in coal mining, furniture and agriculture amounted to $155 million.

A Russian embargo against EU products '€” especially agricultural ones '€” has made Polish farmers seek new markets, including in Indonesia. Strawberries and apples, for which the country is famous, are two of the commodities, in addition to poultry, that Poland has been thinking of exporting to Southeast Asia.

'€œWe need to obtain the halal certification first as required by Indonesia before we are able to export our food products there,'€ said Switalski.

As Europe'€™s sixth biggest economy, Poland has long been working with Asian countries, especially China, Japan and South Korea.

However, it has been looking into bigger possibilities to expand its business ties, especially with Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia.

'€œWe see Indonesia as a success story in terms of democracy and economics. By 2050, Indonesia is expected to be the fourth largest economy in the world,'€ Switalski said.

Indonesia is quite popular among Polish people traveling to Asia, with Bali remaining a top destination for them.

Despite their expertise in IT, trains, buses and chemicals, Poland hopes that they will be able to export more consumer goods and make their products better known in Asia, especially in Indonesia.