President Kovind invites Czech companies to invest in India

President of India Ram Nath Kovind, who addressed members of the India-Czech Republic Business Forum in Prague on September 7 during his state visit, said the economies of India and Czech Republic have significant complementarities.

Urging Czech defence companies to invest in India, he said: “The defence sector has been a vital area of cooperation between the two countries. Defence production in India has been opened for the private sector to participate. Our defence requirements are huge. Indian companies are looking at Czech defence majors to partner them. I invite Czech defence companies to come, invest and manufacture in India.”

The President addressed the gathering and said, “I am happy to see enthusiastic participation from both sides in our engagement today. We have members from the Czech Chambers of Commerce and the Czech Association of Medium and Small Enterprises in the gathering.”

Kovind was accompanied by a 50-member business delegation from India. The delegation included members from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Confederation of Indian Industry, Assocham, PHDCCI and Trade Promotion Council of India.

On Friday, there was a B2B meeting between the business representatives of two sides, leading to signing of four memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the industry and education sectors.

Kovind said he had meaningful discussions with Czech President Milos Zeman on taking forward India-Czech multi-faceted relations, with special emphasis on economic ties.

He said there is a lot of scope for Indian and Czech companies to engage in new-age technologies and join hands to reap the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Many Indian companies have invested in the Czech Republic in sectors like IT, transport, tea, textile, pharmaceutical and auto-components. Czech has also invested in India and are present in the machinery, transportation, power and automotive sectors.