President of India Ram Nath Kovind in the Czech Republic
07.09.2018 / 06:55
Hon’ble President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, arrived on 6th September 2018 in Prague for a State Visit to the Czech Republic. The Head of State is accompanied by Shri Parshottam Khodabhai Rupala, Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Ministry of Panchayati Raj, two Members of Parliament Mr. Ram Shakal and Mr. Anil Baluni and other officials.
Honourable President Kovind came at the invitation of the President of the Czech Republic Honourable Milos Zeman and will stay in the Czech Republic till 9 September, 2018.
Indo-Czech relations are warm and friendly and pre-date India’s independence. First knowledge about trade with India comes from 9-10 century A.D. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose founded the Indo-Czech Association in Prague in 1934. Charles University had a Sanskrit Chair in 1850, a predecessor of today's Department of South and Central Asia at the Faculty of Arts. Diplomatic relations were established in 1947, which has led to development of our multifaceted bilateral ties. India has substantial economic linkages with the Czech Republic. Our annual trade of USD 1.5 billion and investment of around 60 Czech companies in India is testimony of our vibrant economic ties. Substantial investment has been announced by a Czech flagship company in automotive sector in ‘Make in India’.
The first Czech President to visit India was Vaclav Havel in 1994. A visit from India at the level of Head of State took place in 1996 and was conducted by Indian President Shankar Dayal Sharma. On the other hand, Czech Prime Minister and incumbent President Milos Zeman visited India in 2001. Czech President Vaclav Klaus was then on a State visit to India in 2005 and Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek visited India in 2006.
President Ram Nath Kovind was received in the Czech Republic with full honour and respect and at the highest levels - by President of the Czech Republic Honourable Milos Zeman (Press Statement), Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Andrej Babis and Speaker of the Czech Parliament Mr. Radek Vondracek.
Some of the topics discussed were included in to the Joint Statement.
Czech President Milos Zeman hosted a Banquet in the gothic Vladislav Hall of the Prague Castle built in 1493 (remarks of President Kovind).
President Kovind addressed the business representatives of India and Czechia at a Business Forum.
He interacted with students and Czech Indologists at the Charles University.
He also addressed members of Indian community in the Czech Republic.
He also visited ELI Beamlines - International Laser Research Institute during the visit. The ELI Beamlines research center aspires to install and run the world’s most intense laser system. These beamlines will enable groundbreaking research not only in the fields of physics and material science, but also in biomedical research and laboratory astrophysics.