This article covers the diplomatic relationship between India and Czechia (the Czech Republic): its historical background, the establishment of relations with Czechoslovakia and the recognition of the Czech Republic, and the high-level visits and meetings in both directions. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of June 2026.

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, India's relations with former Czechoslovakia and with the present Czech Republic have always been warm and friendly, and have a long history. In the medieval ages, the Kingdom of Bohemia, now a part of the Czech Republic, traded with India in precious goods and Indian spices.

During the Czech National Revival, a cultural movement of the 18th and 19th centuries that aimed to revive the Czech language, culture and national identity, prominent Czech scholars were inspired by ancient Indian culture. The brief states that they found a similarity between Czech and Sanskrit.

The brief lists the following notable historical events:

  • visits by Nobel laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore to Czechoslovakia in 1921 and 1926 (in 2004, a bust of Tagore was installed in Prague, with a street named Thakurova)
  • the establishment of Czech Bata Works in Batanagar, Calcutta in the 1930s
  • visits by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in 1933 and 1938
  • a visit by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, accompanied by his daughter Indira Gandhi, in 1938

The brief's list also includes the opening of Czechoslovak consulates in Bombay and Calcutta, which is covered in this guide's practical article.

Establishment of relations

Diplomatic relations were established with Czechoslovakia on 18 November, 1947. After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia on 1 January 1993, India immediately recognised the Czech Republic.

Visits from India

The brief lists these recent high-level visits and interactions from the Indian side:

  • State visit of President Ram Nath Kovind to the Czech Republic in September 2018. During the visit, 8 Agreements/MoUs were signed in the fields of Trade, Defence, S&T, Culture, Education and Visa Waiver for Diplomatic Passport holders.
  • Visit of the Chief of Defense Staff of India, General V. Rawat, to the Czech Republic in November 2021.
  • Visit of the External Affairs Minister (EAM) to the Czech Republic in June 2022.
  • Visit of the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari, to the Czech Republic in October 2023.
  • Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi congratulated Mr. Andrej Babiš on social media on being sworn in as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic on 09 December 2025.
  • Official visit to the Czech Republic by a delegation led by the Comptroller and Auditor General, K. Sanjay Murthy, on 09 February 2026.
  • Meeting on 14 February 2026 between EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, Mr. Petr Macinka, on the margins of the Munich Security Conference.

Visits from the Czech Republic

The brief lists these visits to India from the Czech side:

  • Czech PM Mr. Andrej Babis visited India in January 2019 for the Gujarat global summit that the brief abbreviates as VGSS, accompanied by the Czech Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms. Marta Novakova. The Czech Republic was partner country at the summit.
  • Czech Defence Minister Mr. Lubomir Metnar visited India in February 2019 for Aero-India, Bangalore.
  • Czech Foreign Minister Petricek visited India in January 2020 to participate in the 6th edition of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.
  • Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky visited India in February 2023, and again in February 2024.
  • Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited India in January 2024. During this visit, a Joint Statement: India-Czechia Strategic Partnership On Innovation was adopted.
  • A Czech Parliamentary delegation led by the Vice President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Ms Jitka Seitlova, visited India from 9-13 December 2025.
  • Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Marie Chatardová visited India to participate in the AI Impact Summit held in Delhi from 18-20 February 2026.

Ministerial visits for sessions of the India-Czech Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation, in 2018, 2023 and 2026, are covered in this guide's trade and investment article. Cooperation between the two countries in multilateral forums is covered in the article on defence, science and multilateral cooperation.