Ambassador (retired) Piotr Opaliński  is a Polish diplomat and orientalist, recognized for his extensive expertise about South, Central, and West Asia. He currently heads the Asian Observatory at the Center for International Relations (CSM) in Warsaw. He served as Poland’s ambassador to Pakistan from 2015 to 2021, deputy ambassador to India from 2008 to 2014, and Chargé d’Affaires in Bangladesh from 1991 to 1997. He is fluent in Polish, English, Russian, Hindi, and Urdu. For his services, he has been awarded the Gold Cross of Merit of Poland and a civilian award from Pakistan, the “Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam.”