India, Visegrad Group agree yearly ministers' meets and business forum
India and the four-member Visegrad Group of Central European countries on Monday agreed to step up political, economic and defence cooperation at their first foreign ministers' meeting, held on the margins of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar described it as a "new historic occasion".
After the meeting, Jaishankar said the discussions were centred on expanding cooperation and also covered major global crises, including the Ukraine conflict and developments in the Gulf. He said the five countries agreed on annual meetings of their foreign ministers and on creating an annual business forum.
The Visegrad Group, or V4, is a cultural and political alliance of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia that aims to advance cooperation in military, economic, cultural and energy affairs. Jaishankar joined Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Radek Sikorski, Hungary's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Anita Orban, Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Juraj Blanar, and Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka for the meeting.
"It was, in a sense, a new historic occasion," Jaishankar said in remarks after the meeting. "It was a very, very productive meeting. What we agreed was that since India's relationship with the European Union itself is deepening, with the V4 we would take some special initiatives to create an annual business forum," he said, adding that there was "consensus" that the foreign ministers of the five nations in the group would meet annually.
Jaishankar said the countries would also look at expanding cooperation in technology and innovation. "We would also explore in technology and innovation whether we could be doing more. We have a very strong history with all the V4 countries in defence. We want to refresh and take forward that record and that cooperation," he said. The group also discussed space, connectivity and people-to-people mobility.
Calling the talks "very worthwhile" and "very productive", Jaishankar said, "It was really a very, very worthwhile, very productive meeting. I'm very pleased about it." In a post on X, he said the first meeting in the V4+India format agreed to closer political cooperation, including annual meetings of foreign ministers, and deeper economic cooperation, including the Annual Business Forum. He added that the countries also agreed to strengthen partnerships in technology, innovation, research and education, reinvigorate defence cooperation, further develop cultural cooperation and people-to-people relations, and work together to support multilateralism.
Jaishankar also said India has "very good" relations with the V4 countries. "These are countries with a very strong, very distinctive capability. These are industrial economies, economies with great innovation and technology talent, and I think how the V4 come together is for them to decide. But we certainly welcome the opportunity to work with the V4 together," he told reporters. The meeting marked the start of a new format for engagement, with both sides agreeing to widen cooperation across political, economic, defence, technology and cultural areas.
