Exclusive: Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky highlights country's readiness to cooperate with India

Foreign MinisterJan Lipavsky of Czech Republic, during an exclusive chat with WION, highlighted his country's readiness to cooperate with India, particularly in the areas of research, and innovation. He also spoke on India's successful G20 presidency.

Here is the transcript of the interview:

WION: How do you see the trajectory of this relationship going forward?

Lipavsky: First of all, hello and thank you for having me. And the relationship is thriving. And there was in the last two years set of high-level visits between both countries, which shows how good the relationship is. It's only on the level of ministers of foreign affairs. It was a business delegation, led by our Ministry of Trade and Industry. It was the visit of the Prime Minister here in India and the signing of a memorandum on technological and scientific cooperation and there will be much more, our common trade is growing. We now have trade-in terms of 4 billion USD, which is more than 10 times then than many years ago. So this is a very good thing. And you know, we are on a good path.

WION: Where do you see the economic cooperation going forward between these countries? India is keen to have a large FTR well, with the European Union, what's your view on that?

Lipavsky: Definitely. We need to continue working on that and then be successful one day.

WION: The economic cooperation between the two countries bilaterally we saw the representation from the Czech Republic during India's vibrant Gujarat, which is one of the key flagship programmes.

Lipavsky: So our companies are active in many sectors. It's automotive. It's a sector of tourism. It's a sector of defence, which is now a new area of cooperation. And it's something which is very promising, and we don't want to sell we want to innovate, we want to make a technological transfer, you know, as it is aligned with the strategy of India to be working on internal growth.

WION: You can highlight the key focus areas in this security strategy and where India and Asia are figures in this security strategy.

Lipavsky: So the security strategy basically starts with the description of the environment in which we live. And the situation is not easy. The world is going into something which I described as a world of global confrontation and in such a world you need to have a friend and we want to have India as one of those friends.

WION: On India's aspect, defence has been another key area of cooperation, any elements where we are looking at, are you looking at buying from India or co-production with India which India has been focusing on?

Lipavsky: So it depends on companies on military reasonable procurement, but definitely we have a lot of know-how we are willing to, for example, share in the sense that if we want to build a factory which produces something then we also do this technology transfer. So, not everything can be transferred in terms of military equipment, some high-level things will be always protected. But we are also willing to discuss the trade because India is very important.

WION: There are a few irritants as well in the relationship. Nikhil Gupta's case is one such example. What's the current status of this case in your country?

Lipavsky: So, we have a division of labour in Czechia as well there is a division of labour in India. So we have an independent judicial system which has been dealing with this case, politicians. And I don't see that much as a return to action.

WION: Do you think that this case can have an impact on the wider relationship between the two countries?

Lipavsky: Honestly, I haven't seen that this would have an impact. I think respect for an independent and free judicial system is a key element of the whole thing. And I hope that the judicial system will deal with the costs.

WION: But has it been a part of the conversation between the two sides, the Indian government and the Czech government part of ongoing cooperation or conversation over this particular issue?

Lipavsky: I'm not I'm not aware of such a conversation.

WION:On the international dimension, there is a conflict going on in Ukraine. How has it impacted the larger European security? It will be two years later. In fact, tomorrow it will be two years. What's your assessment of the ongoing situation in Ukraine?

Lipavsky: First of all, we need to call it the right name. It's not a conflict in Ukraine. It's Russia’s imperialistic war against Europe, which is now materializing in Ukraine, because Putin decided that he will attack Ukraine, and he is not recognizing its borders. If you can fall, if we are not able to support Ukraine and the principles of international law, it will be very easy. It will continue it will snowball. We know this from history. So I know two years of war is a long time. I don't want any imperialistic powers in the world to try to colonize other countries, and Putin is trying to colonize Ukraine. It is a very clear case, he swallowed Crimea, and he swallowed part of the eastern territories of Ukraine proclaiming the part of the Russian Federation which is absurd. You cannot take your soldiers somewhere and say, This is my, we are not living in such a world anymore. And I don't want to live in the world anymore. So I hope that this message will spread across as much as possible and unfilled that Czechia is very much affected by Russia's interest in the war against Ukraine. It is the high energy crisis, it is the war on food and things like that. We have half a million war refugees in 10 million countries, you know, look at the scale. So we are very much affected.

WION: And how is your country supporting Ukraine?

Lipavsky: We are supporting Ukraine in all aspects you can imagine. We are supporting Ukraine politically in international forums like the EU, NATO and in the UN. We are supporting Ukraine by sending humanitarian aid, we are sending military supplies. We are participating in the programmes in the EU which are through macro financial aid or stabilizing the budget of humankind.

WION: In Asia, we have also seen similar cases, China is an example of it. It has been very assertive, and aggressive with countries in the region, including India. Any talks about Chinese aggressive actions in the region.

Lipavsky: So our security strategy, portrays China as a challenge and opportunity and depends on which kind of field we are talking about China, and we want to keep China in the game as much as possible. And we don't want to see any kind of escalation in the region, because we are some of understanding that any kind of escalation in the region has a profound impact on Europe and on Czechia. Look at what simple elements of Houthi’s shooting on ships in the Red Sea, the impact on global trade between Asia and Europe. And ships need to take a longer route... 50 days, it's more costly and slower. Any kind of military escalation in Taiwan would have a profound impact on maritime trade, on the production of microchips, and therefore on the whole economies globally. So we need to be in a dialogue with China. We need to be looking for ways, how to not reach the point but we need to be prepared that if something happens we are ready.

WION: So since you mentioned the Red Sea crisis, I'll come to that bit but India during this event dependency announced with other countries, the India West Asia, Europe corridor to make this corridor. What's your assessment about this connectivity project? And do you think that this connectivity project will be impacted by the ongoing conflict Israel Hamas conflict, which is underway?

Lipavsky: So this corridor is dependent on physical security. And if you have extra rights like Iran, which is supporting actively, many militias in the region and basically named that this physical security disappears, so we should be very, very aware and we need to build up coalition, which will be stabilizing this region, because, without the route, you cannot have coverage.

WION: Your assessment of the conflict. What is your country’s stance on the Israel Gaza conflict, and the Red Sea crisis?

Lipavsky: So it impacts indirectly through the curb on maritime trade. Of course, Israel has the right to self-defence, but also humanitarian international humanitarian law needs to be abided by. So we have a very principled position.

WION: Moving back to India, there are areas like educational cooperation and cultural cooperation, you can elaborate on what one can expect in the near future.

Lipavsky: So, I give you one example of what is already happening between Czechia and then India is the magic centre of artificial intelligence, robotics and cybernetics. It's a basically new scientific institution, which is now being built at University in Jaipur. We are also inviting students from India. It was a few years ago when there were only 350 Indian students in Prague, and now it's almost 2000. And it's very important to know that also our embassy here offers language courses for example, so we have a very thriving and good cooperation also in this field, and science and technology. Yes, definitely. This is a part of that. And since we have this memorandum, we need to be looking for opportunities, and how to filter it.

WION: How do you see the issue like the UNSC reforms? Your country had been backing India on several fronts, including the Nuclear Suppliers Group as well if you can elaborate on that.

Lipavsky: So we are running for the non-permanent seat of the Security Council in the UN and we fully support the reforms of the Security Council because it needs to reflect the current world, not the worldwhich was there eight years ago.

WION: Does that mean that you country supports India's bid for reforms in Security Council?

Lipavsky: Basically, India is always part of those schemes because of the size and the importance of this country. So you know, that countries are looking, so you have us on your side.

WION: How do you see India’s G20 presidency, India as a voice of the Global South?

Lipavsky: Very successful and very ambitious presidency and I was happy to see this kind of leadership.