India and Czech Republic on Tuesday agreed to boost bilateral economic ties at the eleventh session of India – Czech Republic Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation (JCEC) was held on 22-23 October.

The Indian delegation was led by Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, C. R. Chaudhary. Miss Marta Nováková, Minister of Industry & Trade of Czech Republic led the Czech side.

Chaudhary said that India’s growth story and Czech technological expertise and manufacturing prowess make two natural partners. 

He said that economies of both the countries have significant complementarity which can be leveraged for mutually beneficial cooperation.

He also held a meeting with Mr. Martin Tlapa, Deputy Minister, Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic and discussed various issues including direct flight, long term study visa, strengthening of mutual Trade and investment relations.

Technical meeting of 11th session of India-Czech Republic Joint Economic Commission was held simultaneously at Prague. A protocol was subsequently signed by C. R. Chaudhary and Ms. Marta Novakova, Minister of Trade and Industry, Czech Republic.

The Czech side stressed that the Czech Government continues to rank India among the priority countries for promotion of mutual commercial, investment and economic activities and stated that Czech companies are interested to cooperate with Indian partners within the framework of the ‘Make in India’ programme.

Both sides welcomed the opening of the new Honorary Consulate of the Czech Republic in Bengaluru and expressed the hope that the process of the establishment of the Honorary Consulate of the Czech Republic in Chennai would be completed soon.

They agreed that the recent growth of global protectionism had negatively affected many countries and concerted effort is required for a positive outlook for the future.

Both sides shared the view that solutions should be sought for closer economic cooperation as well as for promotion of multilateral and inter-regional trade.

Stressing on the importance of a rule-based multilateral trading system embodied in WTO both sides expressed concern over the current protectionist and anti-globalist tendencies that threaten free trade.

Both sides reviewed developments in their bilateral trade since the 10th Session of the Joint Commission held in New Delhi in January 2015 and welcomed the increasing trend in the volume of trade. They appreciated a record level of trade exchange in 2017 and noted that this exchange was almost balanced.

The two sides reaffirmed their support to finalizing an ambitious and balanced Broad Based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) between India and the EU.