By Alan Calvert, Industrial Editor THE former Communist Party headquarters in Warsaw now house the Stock Exchange.

This is as neat a way as any to illustrate the recent seismic change in Polish society.

A land with a 700-year history of physical invasion - Russia, Austria, Prussia and Germany - is now actively encouraging western investment in a booming business market.

The former Communist country is being invaded again - by Western-style capitalism.

British Airways marked the inaugural flight of its new Manchester-Warsaw service by sponsoring a delegation of North-west business people, Chamber of Commerce representatives, tourism officials and journalists.

The Poles are particularly keen to encourage business links in the North-west of England, where Bolton and other towns have significant Polish communities.

Our two-day visit included an official reception at the British Embassy in Warsaw, hosted by the Ambassador, Mr Christopher Hum.

Earlier, there was a breakfast business briefing in the magnificent Hotel Bristol - opened after restoration in 1993 by Lady Thatcher in another symbolic nod to the new order.

"The message that I want to put over to companies is that Poland is no longer remote, no longer inaccessible and no longer difficult," Mr Hum said.

He pointed out that some of the biggest British investors were from northern Britain, including Pilkingtons Glass at St Helens.

Mr Hum said the latest figures showed British exports to Poland - the UK's 24th largest market - had gone up by 40 per cent in the last year to £1.2 billion.

Young, impressive Polish business people were keen to learn and were looking for partners in the west.

Poland, where real incomes are rising at about seven per cent per year, is hoping to join both the European Union and NATO.

A series of privatisation measures are in hand during an election year.

Another of the speakers at the briefing was Stephen Pattison, Director of Trade Promotion and Consul-General at the British Embassy.

Mr Pattison believes the new BA flights will provide a big opportunity to encourage business visits from the North-west.

"If any chambers of commerce want to arrange missions they can talk to me or the DTI," he said.

Other organisations working on developing links include the five-year-old British Chamber of Commerce in Poland - now up to 260 members and expanding - and PAIZ, the Polish Agency for Foreign Investment, established in 1992.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.