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New York: Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanár has described the first V4+India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting as “very productive”, highlighting opportunities to deepen cooperation with India in technology, defence, trade and other strategic areas. The meeting, held on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, brought together India and the four Visegrad Group nations—Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
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The meeting established the basis for regular V4+India engagement, with the sides agreeing to prepare a roadmap for concrete activities. An annual business forum, to be held alternately in India and V4 countries, is also planned to connect companies and expand economic cooperation.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India wanted to intensify cooperation with the V4 in technology and innovation, while also “refreshing” and taking forward its established defence ties with all four countries. Discussions also covered space, connectivity, research, education and people-to-people mobility.
For Slovakia, the new format builds on its expanding bilateral relationship with India. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Slovakia in June 2026, the two countries elevated their relationship to a Comprehensive Partnership and agreed to strengthen defence and security cooperation, including defence technology, capacity building, R&D and defence-industrial cooperation.
The broader V4 framework could provide an additional channel for India to engage with four Central European industrial economies collectively. Jaishankar said the V4 countries possess distinctive capabilities and significant potential in innovation and technology, while India welcomed the opportunity to work with them as a bloc.
The ministers also discussed energy security and the impact of conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East on global supply chains and transport routes, including disruptions affecting the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea. Blanár said India and the V4 have common interests in addressing energy-security challenges.
The meeting also carried a multilateral dimension. Blanár said Slovakia supports India’s aspiration for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, while the V4 countries have collectively backed India’s permanent-membership bid. Slovakia and India are also supporting each other’s candidacies for non-permanent UNSC seats for 2028–29.
The first V4+India ministerial meeting thus provides a new institutional layer to India’s engagement with Central Europe, combining defence and technology cooperation with trade, energy security and multilateral coordination. For India, the format offers another platform to engage European industrial capabilities beyond its established bilateral partnerships.
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