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 Czech Republic |  India |
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Economic relations between India and Czech Republic date back to the Middle Ages. People in both countries have always been interested in learning more about the history, language and culture of the other country. During the years after India's independence, Czechoslovakia also played a role as a vital economic partner. Today, both India and Czech Republic have established close relations when it comes to trade, investment and tourism.
Bohemia (now a land that is part of the Czech Republic) traded extensively with India for unique and valuable goods such as spices. [1] These Indian spices were transported into the then Czechoslovakia, through both land and sea routes. It is also interesting to note that Charles University, the oldest and the largest university in the Czech Republic, was home to a great number of Sanskrit scholars. During the next few centuries, India-Czech Republic relations strengthened further as many artists, businessmen, scholars and political leaders travelled between the two countries. After returning from their visit to India, many Czech scholars would spread knowledge about Indian culture and heritage to the Czech people. Additionally, many notable Indian scholars and writers visited Prague as well as other cities in Czechoslovakia. These visits increased Czech people's knowledge of India and facilitated in forming connections between the two countries. The increase in the amount of bilateral trade led to the establishment of even more personal connections. For example, in 1920, a Czechoslovak Consulate was set up in Bombay, India and a few more years later a Czechoslovak Consulate was set up in Calcutta as well. [1] These consulates paved a way for people with similar professional and personal interests from both countries to come together and interact.
India has possessed trade relations with Czechoslovakia since before India's independence. Even in the 1930s, Bata had more than a 100 Czechoslovak employees in Calcutta, India. [2] During the years after India's independence, Czechoslovakia set up a great number of major projects in India in fields such as energy, defence and metallurgy. However, after the creation of the Czech Republic on January 1, 1993, trade declined due to the liquidation of some major state-owned corporations in the Czech Republic and the switch to payments being made in freely convertible currencies. [3]
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were first formally established on November 18, 1947, after which many former Indian presidents and prime ministers paid frequent visits to Czechoslovakia. [3] Many high-profile visits have taken place after the Velvet Revolution and the establishment of Czech Republic and Slovakia. In February 1994, former Czech President Václav Havel visited India, where he received two prestigious awards: the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize and the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize. [4] In October 1998, the two countries signed a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. In June 2010, the Vice President of India, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, visited the Czech Republic and a Social Security Agreement as well as an Agreement on Economic Cooperation between the two countries were signed. [3]
The following is a list of some of the important agreements signed between India and Czech Republic: [5]
Both India and Czech Republic are equally interested in being educated about the history and culture of the other country. Czech people are passionate about yoga, Ayurveda and Indian religious texts. Many universities in the Czech Republic have a long history of offering education about Indian culture, languages, literature and history. Similarly, in the Delhi University in India, students can learn Czech language and history, and are increasingly eager to visit Czech Republic to explore the architecture, history and beauty. [4]
For many decades, Czechoslovakia was one of India's main trading partners among other the East-European countries. Many Czech companies have contributed in developing India's industrial future by delivering the necessary equipment required for the power and engineering industries and sectors. Even in today's world, the Czech Republic is very often associated in India with famous Czech companies like Skoda, Tatra, Bata and Zetor. The science and technology sectors are some of the most favourable areas of future cooperation between India and Czech Republic. [4] Sectors such as petrochemicals, food processing and civil aviation are also reported to be areas where both countries can benefit from each other. [4]
From 2012 onwards, bilateral trade between India and Czech Republic has amounted to about more than a billion U.S. dollars. [2] In 2017, the bilateral trade turnover was 1466 million U.S. dollars. [2] Czech companies mainly export cars, machinery energy facilities and turbines to India, while Indian companies mainly export electrical machinery, iron and steel, cotton and organic chemicals to Czech Republic. [4] Furthermore, Indian companies like Infosys, Ashok Leyland and Tata Tea have also invested in sectors of the Czech Republic such as IT, vehicles, textile, and tea. Inspired by the investment activities of companies such as Škoda Auto and Tatra in India, a number of other prospective Czech companies are considering investment projects in India in sectors like transportation, power, defence and machinery.
An important sector of bilateral trade cooperation between the two countries is the automotive industry. Skoda Auto is flourishing in India with its widespread productions of Skoda cars as well as a collection of 106 outlets, 69 dealerships and 67 service centres across the country. [6] In 2017, Škoda Auto sold 17,438 units in India. [7] In July 2018, Czech vehicle manufacturer Tatra was reported to be stepping into a partnership along with Reliance Defence in order to build military trucks for India. The company's engagement in building goods for the Indian defence industry is another activity that highlights the strengthening of economic relations between India and Czech Republic. [8] By far, one of the biggest successes of a Czech company in India is that of Bata as it possesses an extensive sales network across the entire country. It was reported that the company expects India to serve as its most important market by the end of 2018. [9] At the end of December 2017, Bata India reported a 6.2 per cent rise in its net sales. [9]
The Indian market has established itself as a key destination for many Czech brands and companies. Czech companies work to establish themselves in the Indian market by offering high-quality products to local consumers. Czech companies are mainly emerging as investors in the fields of energy, finance, engineering and infrastructure.
The following is a list of some important Czech companies that have invested in India: [4]
Many Indian companies, too, have established themselves in the Czech Republic due to the skilled Czech labour and comparatively low wages.
The following is a list of some important Indian companies that have invested in Czech Republic: [4]
Tourism between India and Czech Republic has also been considerably increasing in the past few years. Over the last decade, many of Prague's historical sites have served as shooting locations for a number of big-budget Bollywood films. This has played a role in generating a great amount of interest in the Czech Republic among the people in India and, thus, led to an increase in the number of Indian tourists choosing to travel to Prague. Over the last three years, the number of tourists in the Czech Republic from India has increases to 150 per cent. [10] In 2017, the Czech Republic received 85,680 Indian tourists and it is expecting to receive more than 100,000 tourists from India by the year 2020. [10]
On October 22, 2018, and October 23, 2018, the eleventh session of India – Czech Republic Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation (JCEC) took place. [11] During this, the two countries agreed to work to improve bilateral economic relations. It was agreed that a strong partnership could be formed between India's growth and Czech technological and manufacturing expertise and skill. [12] This relationship had the potential to be mutually beneficial to both countries. Other important issues were also discussed in detail at the JCEC, such as the issuance of long-term student visas and the strengthening of the trade and investment relationship between the two countries. [11] At the same time in Prague, a technical meeting of the eleventh session of the India-Czech Republic JEC was also held. [12] During this, the Czech government shared that it considers India among the top twelve priority countries when it comes to the improvement of mutual economic, business and investment relationships. [12] Furthermore, it was stated that many Czech companies would be interested in cooperating with companies in India.
Czech Republic–United Kingdom relations are foreign relations between the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. The Czech Republic has an embassy in London and four honorary consulates. The United Kingdom has an embassy in Prague.
German–Slovak relations are foreign relations between Germany and Slovakia. Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1993 but previously had relations during World War II when Slovakia was a separate state, the Slovak Republic. Germany has an embassy in Bratislava. Slovakia has an embassy in Berlin, an embassy branch in Bonn, and a consulate-general in Munich. Germany plays an important part in the Slovak economy as it is Slovakia's main trading partner.
Bulgaria–India relations are the international relations that exist between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of India.
Czech Republic–Denmark relations are the current and historical relations between Czech Republic and Denmark. Czech Republic has an embassy in Copenhagen. Denmark has an embassy in Prague. Diplomatic relations were established on 1 January 1993. Relations between the Czech Republic and Denmark are described as "good". Both countries are full members of NATO and of the European Union.
Bilateral relations between the Czech Republic and Japan were established in 1919 by Czechoslovakia and Japan.
Czech Republic–Mexico relations are the diplomatic relations between the Czech Republic and Mexico. Both countries are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations.
China–Czech Republic relations or Sino–Czech relations are international relations between China and the Czech Republic. There were official relations by 1919 and formally established relations followed on 6 October 1949 between Czechoslovakia and China. In 1993, the Czech Republic was established and inherited the Czechoslovak treaty. The relations, trade and tourism between the China and the Czech Republic improved rapidly since the 1990s; and in the 2010s, agreements were made for more thorough economic improvements. Recently, relations have deteriorated due to major Czech politicians visiting Taiwan.
Czech Republic–Pakistan relations are bilateral relations between the Czech Republic and Pakistan. Czech diplomatic relations with Pakistan were formally established on 27 September 1950 by Czechoslovakia and re-established by the Czech Republic in 1991. Pakistan has an embassy in Prague and the Czech Republic has an embassy in Islamabad.
Czech Republic–North Macedonia relations refers to the bilateral political relations between the Czech Republic and the Republic of North Macedonia. North Macedonia has an embassy in Prague, whilst the Czech Republic has a consular agency in Skopje. Both countries are members of the Council of Europe, and NATO. Also Czech Republic is an EU member and North Macedonia is an EU candidate.
Angola–India relations refers to the international relations that exist between Angola and India.
India–Kuwait relations are bilateral diplomatic relations between the Republic of India and the State of Kuwait. The two countries share friendly ties. Kuwait houses a large expatriate Indian population and is the source for 10–12% of India's oil imports while India is among the largest trade partners of Kuwait.
India is represented in Uruguay through its embassy in Buenos Aires in Argentina; it also has a consulate general in Montevideo. Uruguay has an embassy in New Delhi and a consulate in Mumbai. Diplomatic relations were established in 1948. The Uruguayan embassy in New Delhi was first opened in 1960 and operated until 1975. It was re-opened in 1998. In May 2010, Uruguayan ambassador to India Cesar Ferrer requested India to open an embassy in Montevideo.
India–Peru relations are the international relations that exist between India and Peru.
The Republic of India and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan signed their first bilateral agreement for cooperation and friendly relations in 1947. The agreement was formalized in 1950, when India became a republic, and full diplomatic relations were established between the two countries.
India–Slovakia relations are the bilateral ties between India and Slovakia. Both countries established relations in 1921 with a Czechoslovak consulate in Bombay. Modern relations began in 1993 after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
Ecuador–India relations are the international relations that exist between Ecuador and India. Ecuador has an embassy in New Delhi. India has a non resident ambassador in Bogotá.
Mexico–Slovakia relations are the diplomatic relations between Mexico and Slovakia. Both countries are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations.
Brazil–Czech Republic relations are the diplomatic relations between the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Czech Republic. Both nations enjoy friendly relations, the importance of which centers on the history of Czech migration to Brazil. Approximately 500 thousand Brazilians have Czech ancestry. Both nations are members of the United Nations.
Slovakia–Spain relations are the bilateral relations between Slovakia and Spain. The relations of these two countries are defined mainly by the membership of both the European Union and NATO. On the occasion of the celebration of the XXV anniversary of the independence of the Slovak Republic from Czechoslovakia, Ambassador Vladimír Grácz and his lady offered a brilliant reception on January 11, 2019. The protocol act began with the interpretation of the anthems of Spain and Slovakia. Ambassador Grácz confirmed that “relations with Spain are impeccable, of excellent collaboration, of great harmony and mutual support in the candidacies for international institutions. Economic relations are fantastic, as are cultural relations. On a personal basis he recognizes that Spain is a wonderful country, which has been able to meet him in the company of his wife.
Czech Republic–Spain relations are the bilateral and diplomatic relations between these two countries. Relationships are mainly defined by the membership of both countries to the European Union and NATO. The Czech Republic has an embassy in Madrid and consulates in Barcelona, Benidorm, Bilbao, Oviedo, Palma de Mallorca and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Spain has an embassy in Prague, as well as an Education Attaché, a Commercial Office and an Instituto Cervantes; the Delegation of Spanish Tourism for this country operates from Vienna.
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