Czechia-India strategic partnership: From a rich past to fostering innovation 

Historical moments often arrive without warning and they bring about dramatic changes to ourpolitical landscape. I believe we are living in those times. It has been one year since I visitedIndia for the first time as Foreign Minister. I am glad to be back to discuss and seek ways torespond to the challenges we face with our Indian friends, my counterpart S. Jaishankar andother key representatives in Delhi. I cherish also the opportunity to be able to participate in theprestigious Raisina Dialogue forum.

Coming to India means meeting old friendswe share a rich past and want to build a commonfuture with. Czech-Indian relations date back long before 1947, when diplomatic relations wereofficially established.

The first decades of the 20th century laid foundations of the world-renowned Czech Indology.Soon after the establishment of an independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, we opened our consulates in Mumbai and Kolkata. They contributed to the robust intensity of our relations, which gradually expanded after India's independence.

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Business and trade cooperation has been the main pillar of our relations for decades andcontinues to be so. Many people in India know the traditional Czech brands such as Škoda, Tatraand Bata. A number of people-to-people, cultural, personal and traditional economic ties bindus together, and I try to recall them at every meeting with my Indian partners.

We have the base to build on. Our rich past is, however, not what defines the current Czech-Indian relations or where I see their potential. Czech Government commits our foreign policyto strengthening ties with democratic partners, while it explicitly mentions India. Within theEU, my country is among five member states with their national strategies on the Indo-Pacificregion. It was then only natural to designate the Indo-Pacific as one of our geographicalpriorities when we held the Presidency of the European Union two years ago.

As our two countries face a rapidly evolving global landscape, the need for a stronger, ever more strategic approach to our partnership has become critical to advancing our bilateralcooperation and seeking ways to address the shared security challenges.

We are sharp-eyed to violations of international law. Czechia stands in solidarity with Ukraine that is heroically defending its territory against Russian aggression. The security in Europe andAsia are interlinked.

In the Indo-Pacific region, too, there are actors that conduct themselves unilaterally and erodeour rules-based international order violating the UN Charter in its letter and in the spirit. I referto the DPRK’s missile launches. We are also concerned over actions that increase tensionsacross the Taiwan Strait. We wish to cooperate with our Indo-Pacific partners in addressingthese security challenges together.

India as an ever more important power on global scene has a right for its voice to be heard andtaken into account. With this right comes also the responsibility for the world stability.

India and Czechia must make every effort to transform the crises we face into opportunities. Itis vital to deepen our partnerships, decrease undesirable dependencies and open the gates fordiversified and secure supply chains. There is a lot of discussion about weakening globalisation,but we should rather talk about its changing patterns and recognise that there are new regionalplayers emerging, including the so-called minilaterals, e.g. QUAD.

Czechia and India in the words of their respective Prime Ministers are now in a strategicpartnership on innovation. What does that entail? We are actually opening a new and excitingchapter in our relations now. We shall engage in novel bilateral projects in a number ofeconomic and scientific fields; the people-to-people cooperation must flourish. We shall andwe will look for new ways and new ideas to make our cooperation truly nimble and innovative.

There is a great potential for us to focus on high value-added sectors, products and advancedservices. Both countries will support joint initiatives aimed at know-how and technologyexchange. Joint research projects and applied research must be at the forefront.

Czech companies, experts, and universities can bring unique and reliable solutions to India,helping to address shared challenges and drive mutual prosperity. For instance, Czech expertisein aerospace and space technologies can contribute to India's ambitions in space industry andsatellite-based applications.

Let us build on our success stories like Czech radars that cover more than 90% of India’s civilairspace. In line with the “Make in India” strategy, we are looking for new opportunities, forexample in transportation or defence industrial cooperation.

I believe that deepening our cooperation can create new opportunities for shared growth andprosperity for both Czechia and India. Together, we can use our strengths and expertise.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)