India-Czech Republic Bilateral Relations

Historic Linkages

1. India’s relations with former Czechoslovakia and with the present Czech Republic have always been warm, friendly and have a long history. In the medieval ages, the Kingdom of Bohemia (now a part of Czech Republic) traded with India in precious goods and Indian spices. During the Czech National Revival- a cultural movement which took place during the 18th and 19th centuries with the purpose of reviving the Czech language, culture, and national identity, prominent Czech scholars got inspired by ancient Indian culture. They found similarity between Czech and the mother of all languages, Sanskrit. 

2. Notable historical events in bilateral relations: 

1. Opening of the Czechoslovak Consulate in Bombay in October 1920 and later in Calcutta in December 1929.

2. Visit of Nobel laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore to Czechoslovakia in 1921 and 1926.  (In 2004, a bust of Tagore was installed in Prague, with street named as Thakurova)

3. Establishment of Czech Bata Works in Batanagar, Calcutta, in the 1930s.

4. Visit of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in 1933 and 1938.

5. Visit of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru accompanied by his daughter Indira Gandhi  in 1938.

3. Diplomatic relations were established with Czechoslovakia on 18 November 1947. After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia on 1 January 1993, India immediately recognized the Czech Republic.

4. Recent High-level Visits & interaction:

From India

1. State visit of President of India, H.E. Ram Nath Kovind to the Czech Republic in September, 2018. During the visit, 8 Agreements/MoUs in the fields of Trade, Defence, S&T, Culture, Education and Visa Waiver for Diplomatic Passport holders were signed.

2. Visit of the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Mr C.R. Chaudhary to Prague in October 2018 for the 11^th session of the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation.

3. Visit of Chief of Defense Staff of India, General V. Rawat to the Czech Republic in November 2021.

4. Visit of Hon’ble EAM of India to the Czech Republic in June 2022.

5. Visit  of Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shri. Nitin Gadkari to the Czech Republic in October 2023.

6. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi extended warm congratulations to Mr. Andrej Babiš on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic on 09 December 2025 on social media.

7. On 14 February 2026, External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar met Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, Mr. Petr Macinka on the margins of the Munich Security Conference.

8. A delegation led by Comptroller and Auditor General K. Sanjay Murthy, paid an official visit to the Czech Republic on 09 February 2026

9. Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Shri Jitin Prasada, paid an official visit to the Czech Republic from 22-23 April 2026 to co-chair the 13th Session of the India–Czech Republic Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC).

From Czech Republic

1. Visit of Czech PM Mr. Andrej Babis to India for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGSS) in January 2019 ,accompanied by Czech Minister of Trade and Industry Ms. Marta Novakova. The Czech Republic was partner country at the Vibrant Gujrat Summit.

2. Visit of Czech Defence Minister Mr. Lubomir Metnar to India in February 2019 for Aero-India, Bangalore

3. Visit of Czech Foreign Minister Petricek to India in January 2020 to participate at the 6th edition of Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.

4. Visit of Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky to India in February 2023.

5. Visit of Czech Minister for Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela to India in December 2023 to attend the 12th JCEC.

6. Visit of Czech Prime Minister , Petr Fiala to India in Jan 2024. During this visit, a Joint Statement: India-Czechia Strategic Partnership On Innovation was adopted.

7. Visit of Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky to India in February 2024.

8. Czech Parliamentary delegation led by Vice President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Ms Jitka Seitlova visited India from 9-13 December 2025.

9. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Marie Chatardová visited India to participate at the AI Impact Summit held in Delhi from 18-20 February 2026.

Economic and Commercial Relations

5. The bilateral economic relations gained momentum after the Czech Republic gained entry into the European Union in 2004. With the entry of CR into EU, it was necessary to re-negotiate the bilateral trade agreement, so that it became compliant with EU regulations. India-Czech Joint Economic Committee (JEC) provides the institutional framework for intergovernmental discussions on economic cooperation before 2010. A Bilateral Economic Agreement was signed during the visit of Vice President in June 2010, following which, India-Czech Joint Economic Committee (JEC) was upgraded to a Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation (JCEC). The 12th session of JCEC was held on 05 Dec 2023 in New Delhi. Shri Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry co-chaired the 13th Session of the India–Czechia Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) with his Czech counterpart Mr Jan Sechter, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic in Prague on 23rd April 2026. On the margins of the visit, the Minister inaugurated in the India–Czech Business Forum with Mr Jan Sechter, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade and engaged with leading Czech industry representatives to promote trade and investment opportunities and further strengthen business-to-business linkages.

6. Bilateral trade has reached at US $ 4 186 billion in 2024, from just US $ 86 million in 1993 as per Czech statistics. In 2024, India’s export to the Czech Republic was US$ 3.060 billion while India’s import from the Czech Republic was US $ 1.126 billion. Bilateral trade during the last five years has been as follows:

(Source :Cross-border movements of goods by countries. Czech Statistical Office)

7. India’s principal items of export to CR are mobile phones and other electronic items, engineering items like auto components and power equipment, pharmaceutical products textile products, Iron and Steel products,organic and inorganic chemicals, leather and leather manufactures etc.

8. India’s principal items of Import from CR are auto components, textile and leather machines, machines for rubber and plastic industry, machine-tools, food production equipment, ICT equipment, furniture, pumps, electronic items etc.

9. Indian companies in CR in sectors such as IT, vehicles, tea, textile, pharmaceutical and auto-components. Major Indian companies such as Infosys BPO, LEEL Coils Europe s.r.o., Tata Global Beverages Czech Republic a.s., MSSL Advanced Polymers s.r.o., Varroc Lighting Systems s.r.o., Pricol Wiping Systems Czech s.r.o., Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Distribution s.r.o., Mileta Horice a.s., Apag Electronik s.r.o., Coffee Day cz a.s., DINA-HITEX spol. s r.o. have made investments in CR. As per Czech invest, Indian investments in Czechia surpass US$160 million from 15 companies, generating over 3,000 jobs across sectors such as IT, life sciences, and industrial manufacturing. Prominent Indian firms like Infosys, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, and Tata Consultancy Services have established a strong foothold. The acquisition of Vítkovice Steel by Jindal Steel International in 2025 exemplifies India's strategic investments, aiming to enhance steel production with technology upgrades and environmental sustainability.

10. Czech Companies in India: Czech Industrial Cluster has been set up in Bengaluru in December, 2018 to facilitate trade and investment. Over 37 Czech companies, including Škoda Auto, Doosan Škoda Power, and Bonatrans, operate in India with investments exceeding US$283 million, focusing on automotive, engineering, and infrastructure sectors. A notable joint venture was launched in July 2025 between Tata AutoComp and the Škoda Group for urban and high-speed rail components, contributing to India’s flagship Vande Bharat project.

11. A 37-member delegation from the FICCI FLO led by National President Ms. Poonam Sharma visited the Czech Republic to explore business opportunities between India and Czech Republic from 3-4 September 2025.

12. The Indian Pavilion at the MSV International Engineering Fair in October 2025 in Brno set up in coordination with the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC INDIA). 23 Indian companies showcased their cutting-edge technologies and engineering excellence across diverse sectors from precision tools and advanced machinery to automation solutions and industrial components.

13. Czech company, Škoda Doosan Power participated in the Bharat Electric Summit 2026, held from 19-22 March 2026 at Yashobhoomi, Dwarka, New Delhi.

14. On 25 March 2026, Mr. Petr Novotný, CEO and Executive Board Chairman of Škoda Group, met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting emphasized opportunities for collaboration in transportation and advanced technologies, signaling new avenues for Czech companies to expand into one of the world’s most dynamic markets.

Defence Cooperation

15. The bilateral Defence Cooperation gained  momentum with the signing of MoU on Bilateral Defence Cooperation in October 2003. Accordingly Joint Defence Committee has been setup. So far seven such meetings of JDC have taken place with the last meeting taking place in Prague on 7 October 2025 after a gap of five years. A five member delegation of Indian Ministry of Defence led by Shri Appavoo Anbarasu, AS & DG (Acqn) participated in the JDC. On 8 October 2025, a Joint Defence Industry seminar and an Industry Day was conducted in conjunction with the Czech Ministry of Defence and the Czech Defence Industry Association (DSIA) which saw participation by over 60 representatives from Indian and Czech defence industries. A large delegation of 30 representatives from Indian Defence Industries traveled to Prague to participate in the event. A high-level delegation from the Indian Air Force, led by Air Marshal P.K. Vohra, participated in the Future Airforce Conference 2025 held in Prague on 17–18 September 2025. India Pavilion was setup for the first time at the International Defence and Security Exhibition 2025 (IDET), Brno, Czech Republic. A 16 member National Defence College (NDC) delegation led by Brigadier Rajesh Raman, Secretary NDC visited Czech Republic from 09-13 June 2025.

Science and Technology Cooperation

16. In 2019 under the joint collaboration in Science and Technology, 20 high ranking projects were selected out of 187 joint proposals. India and Czech Republic are working in niche technologies given the latter’s strength as the incubator of Technologies in strategic sectors such as defence, nuclear energy, cyber security, AI, Big Data, nanotechnology, laser etc.In June 2017, ISRO launched Czech nanosatellite -VZLUSAT-1 (size 20 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm and weight 2 kg), the first Czech technological satellite. Its mission is to verify new products and technologies on Earth's orbit. The satellite was developed by the Czech Aerospace Research and Test Centre (VZLU) in cooperation with Czech companies and universities.

Educational Cooperation 

17. Indology has a very old tradition in Prague, starting with establishment of a Chair in Sanskrit in the prestigious Charles University in 1850s. Indian languages like Hindi, Bengali, Tamil are currently taught in this University.

18. Czech educational institutions – particularly technical universities and medical colleges, are working with their Indian counterparts through exchange programs. There are about 1500 Indian students studying medicine, engineering, life sciences and physical sciences in various Czech universities.

19. Ambassador met Rector Michael Kohajda of Palacký University Olomouc on 17 September 2025 and visited Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute CATRIN, Department of Biophysics and other leading research institutions at Palacky University – drawing up a plan for cooperation between India-Czechia research institutes, mobility of students and industry-academia collaboration. Following the visit, a Letter of Intent for Strategic Cooperation was signed between Embassy of India and Palacký University on 27 January 2026.

20. In December 2025, Ambassador met Rector Milena Králíčková of Charles University to advance academic cooperation. In February 2026, Ambassador met Vice Rector Renata Tomášková, University of Ostrava and met Igor Ivan, Rector of VSB – Technical University of Ostrava to discuss increasing Indian student enrolment and strengthening research and industry–academia cooperation. On 8 April 2026, a Letter of Intent for Strategic Cooperation was signed between the Embassy of India and the Technical University of Ostrava to cooperate in higher education.

21. Mission set up five "India Corner" with dedicated sections in libraries and educational institutions worldwide to promote Indian culture, literature, and heritage. The first was set up at Palacký University Olomouc, and the second was set up at the International School of Brno in September 2025. The third India corner was set up at the Ostrava Expat Centre and fourth was set up at Charles University in December 2025. The fifth India Corner was set up at the University of Ostrava in February 2026.

Multilateral Cooperation

22. Czech Republic strongly supported India’s full membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group(NSG) through its constructive role in NSG and in EU deliberations. During the visit of the President of India in September 2018 both countries agreed to commit towards strengthening global non-proliferation efforts including peaceful use of nuclear energy.

23.  Czech Republic supported India for  non-permanent membership of UNSC for 2021-22 and will support India’s candidature for 2028-29 on a reciprocal basis. It also supports comprehensive reform of UN and India’s credentials for permanent membership of UNSC. Both sides provide mutual support for their candidature in various UN bodies/organizations and other multilateral agencies.

Cultural & Tourism Cooperation

24. Czech Republic is a popular destination for the Indian tourists. Around 100,000 Indian tourists visit the Czech Republic annually. Around 12 000 Czech nationals also visit India annually. India’s e-visa scheme is presently being utilized by 85% of Czech visitors. The Embassy actively highlighted and celebrated all traditional Indian Festivals as well as the Government initiatives in 2025.

1. On 7 June 2025, Mission organized 8th edition of the Festival of Embassies in Prague, with enthusiastic participation from the Indian Women Association, Czechia Tamil Sangam, and Bharatiya Gujarat Samaj.

2. On 20 June 2025, Mission celebrated the 11th International Day of Yoga in Prague, against the majestic Prague Castle with more than 200 yoga enthusiasts. The yoga session was conducted by instructors from Yoga in Daily Life.

3. Mission celebrated Independence Day on 15^th August at India House. The United Cricket Club (formed by a vibrant Indian community in Czechia), with support from the Embassy of India, hosted the Independence Day Cup 2025 on 16–17 August 2025 in Prague.

4. A cultural delegation from Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan, participated in the 30th Karlovy Vary International Folk Dance Festival from 4–7 Sept 2025

5. On 23 September 2025, Mission organized 10^th Ayurveda Day with themed “Ayurveda for People and Planet”

6. On 28 September 2025, Mission organized Viksit Bharat Run at Ladronka Park in Prague where members of the Indian community, Czechs and friends of India came together for the 5.2 km run.

7. On 30 October 2025, Ambassador inaugurated the 22nd Prague Indian Film Festival , celebrating the richness of Indian storytelling on the big screen in the Prague, the Czech Republic.

8. Mission commemorated 150th Anniversary of Vande Mataram on 7 November 2025. To mark the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram

9. Mission commemorated Jan Jatiya Gaurav Varsh on 7 November 2025

10. On 16 November 2025, Mission participated at the Diplomatic Spouses Association Bazaar in Prague.

11. Mission hosted an engaging 3rd edition of “ Namaste Czechia”, for Indian students on 21 November 2025.

12. On 1 December 2025, the Embassy of India in association with Czechia Tamil Sangam organised the Vande Mataram Badminton Tournament 2025.

13. The Embassy of India, in association with Nitai Navadvipacandra Mandir – ISKON Temple, celebrated Geeta Mahotsava on 17 December 2025 in Prague, Czech Republic.

14. Mission celebrated the World Hindi Divas on 09 January 2026. The event was inaugurated with a message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Hindi Divas.

15. Mission in association with Indian Women Association of the Czech Republic (IWA) celebrated the International Women’s Day 2026 on 6 March 2026. The event showcased India’s rich weaving traditions through “Sarees & Stories” fashion show.

16. The Embassy of India in Prague in association with Association of Tour Operators and Travel Agents in Czech Republic (ACCKA) organized a Tourism Roadshow on 28 November 2025.

17. The Ministry of Tourism, along with the Embassy of India in Prague participated in the 34th Annual Holiday World & Region World being held in Prague, Czech Republic, from 12–14 March 2026. The largest ever Incredible India Pavilion was inaugurated by Mr. Filip Endal, Deputy Minister at the Czech Ministry of Regional Development, and Ambassador of India to the Czech Republic. Recognizing its outstanding presentation, the India Tourism Pavilion was awarded third place for “Most Impressive Exposition”, reflecting the strong interest in India’s tourism offerings and the pavilion’s success in bringing the vibrant spirit of India to visitors at the expo.

18. In March 2026, the Embassy of India in Prague promoted Indian tourism by running Incredible India advertisements on the Prague tram network, showcasing Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Ladakh to highlight India’s cultural and natural diversity.

Indian Community

20. Approximately 10000 Indian nationals- mostly IT professionals, business personnel and students re residing in the Czech Republic. In addition to registered Indian associations, there are several informal associations of Indians/people of Indian origin, who organize community events in association with the Embassy.

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(April 2026)