Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis was warmly welcomed in India by Governor of Gujarat Om Prakash Kohli.
 

During inaugural session of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar the Czech Prime Minister said his country was interested in developing a strategic partnership with India, saying that Czech-India business ties not only had a long tradition, but had great potential for the future. 

PM Modi and PM Babis held a bilateral meeting on 18th January 2019 on the sidelines of the Summit.

The entire gamut of bilateral relations was discussed during the talks, including important global and regional issues of mutual interest.
 

The Czech PM appreciated the rapid growth of Indian economy and huge opportunities for enhancing bilateral trade and investment relations and recalled visit of the President of India to the Czech Republic in September 2018 when several MoUs for bilateral cooperation were signed.

Czech Republic has cutting edge manufacturing technologies in heavy machinery and precision engineering. PM Modi invited Czech companies to take advantage of huge opportunities that the Indian market offered for manufacturing in India especially in defense, automotive and railway sectors.

 

Czech PM invited nomination of an Indian scientist for its prestigious Research & Development Council which hosts several international researches of high repute and is headed by the Prime Minister himself.
 

In New Delhi, PM Babis called on the President of India Honourable Ram Nath Kovind on 19th January 2019.

Talking at an event organized by the Czech Embassy, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said that his country is ready to step up Indo-Czech cooperation in defence and other sectors, and its defence minister will visit AERO INDIA in Bengaluru in February 2019. 

"We discussed concretely, defence cooperation, Tatra (trucks), Skoda, our investments, possibility of a direct flight between Delhi and Prague, tourism and other areas of cooperation," he said.

PM Babis also met Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani.

Czech car maker SKODA AUTO and Volkswagen Group India on January 19, 2019 inaugurated a new technology centre at its Chakan manufacturing plant in Pune as part of its 2.0 India project.

Czech Prime Minister Babis attended the programme and also inaugurated a Center for European Studies at Symbiosis University in Pune. 
 

On defence cooperation, he said: "We are ready to increase our defence cooperation in passive radars and other things.Our defence minister will visit India next month to participate in Aero India event in Bengaluru." AERO INDIA 2019 will be held in Bengaluru from February 20th to 24th, 2019 and the defence exhibition will see participation of top fighter-jet manufactureres, defence equipment makers and companies related to the sector.
 

On bilateral ties, PM Babis, said: "Both countries have a long history of cooperation. Old Czech brands like Skoda and a Bata symbolize that tie. He also pitched for extending cooperation in the education sector through a students exchange programme.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis had also a fruitful discussion with Honorary Consuls of the Czech Republic based in Dhaka (Bangladesh), Mumbai (India), Kolkata (India), Bengaluru (India), Kathmandu (Nepal) and Colombo (Sri Lanka). The Czech Republic will soon re-open the Honorary Consulate in Chennai (India).
 

Addressing a gathering at a Reception held at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in the evening, the Czech Prime Minister described his visit as "fantastic": "We are looking forward to co-operating with Indian companies, universities, thinking about the exchange of students. It was a great visit, and I leave with a lot of pleasant memories," he said.
 

Babis also unveiled a book on the journey of Ideal Jawa and Yezdi motorcycle brand in India, whose history is linked to the original motorcycle manufacturer Jawa which was founded in the then Czechoslovakia in 1929.