External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday wrapped up his visit to the Czech Republic during which he held wide-ranging talks with his Czech counterpart Jan Lipavsky and discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including political, economic, defence and security.
Both sides exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific and the Ukraine conflict. They also discussed cooperation at multilateral fora and agreed to work closely in this sphere, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
Jaishankar was here on the last leg of his two-nation tour to Slovakia and the Czech Republic to impart further momentum in ties with the two central European countries.
India and the Czech Republic have historically enjoyed warm and friendly relations which have been strengthened in the last several years through high-level exchanges and enhanced cooperation across sectors.
During the delegation level talks, Jaishankar and Lipavsky discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including political, economic, defence & security, S&T, cultural and people to people ties, the statement said.
Both sides appreciated that bilateral trade had crossed over USD 2 billion.
Discussions were also held on India-EU relations, including the upcoming Czech Presidency of the EU and both sides agreed to work towards an early conclusion of the India-EU FTA, the statement said.
Jaishankar also interacted with Czech Members of the European Parliament and discussed India’s strong ties with the EU, as well as the Czech Republic. They exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific, Food and Energy security, as well as digital cooperation.
In Prague, the external affairs minister paid floral tributes to the bust of Rabindranath Tagore and interacted with the members of the Indian community and appreciated their role in promoting India- Czech people to people ties.
Jaishankar had arrived in Prague on Saturday from the Slovakian capital, Bratislava.
Jaishankar’s visit to Slovakia was the first ever visit at the level of EAM since its creation in 1993. India and Slovakia share close and friendly ties based on common values of democracy, rule of law, freedom and equality.
In Bratislava, Jaishankar participated in the GLOBSEC 2022 Forum and spoke on the topic ‘Taking Friendship to the Next Level: Allies in the Indo-Pacific Region’.
He also called Slovakia’s Prime Minister Eduard Heger and had delegation level talks with Foreign Minister Korok.
He thanked the Slovak side for their assistance in the evacuation of 1,115 Indian students from Ukraine. He also appreciated the mutual recognition of vaccine certificates between India and Slovakia which has greatly facilitated travel between the two countries.
Both sides discussed the expanding cooperation in trade, investment and defence sectors.
He also invited Slovakia to join the International Solar Alliance. Both sides also exchanged views on regional as well as multilateral issues, including Ukraine, the EU and the Indo-Pacific.
