India and Czechia convened the 7th Joint Defence Committee (JDC) meeting in Prague from October 7 to 9, 2025, to expand bilateral cooperation in defence and strategic domains.

The meeting, announced by India’s Ministry of Defence, was aimed at strengthening defence industrial collaboration, deepening military training partnerships, and exploring new areas of joint engagement.

The Indian delegation was led by A. Anbarasu, Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition), while the Czech side was represented by Radka Konderlova, Director General of the Industrial Cooperation Division at the Czech Ministry of Defence.

Discussions focused on identifying future projects in joint defence production, research and development, technology sharing, and capacity-building. Both sides reiterated their intent to advance cooperation in defence manufacturing and training consistent with their evolving strategic relationship.

An India-Czechia Defence Industry Seminar was held in parallel, serving as a dedicated platform for defence industry representatives from both nations to interact. The seminar encouraged enhanced industrial engagement under India’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives, with emphasis on long-term partnerships in production, innovation, and technological development.

India and Czechia maintain a long-standing defence relationship traced back to India’s diplomatic engagement with Czechoslovakia in 1947. Following the peaceful split of Czechoslovakia in 1993, India immediately recognised the Czech Republic, with defence and industrial cooperation continuing uninterrupted.

Bilateral defence ties received renewed impetus in October 2003 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation, under which the JDC was established. Previous JDC meetings have yielded progress in defence trade and knowledge exchange, with the last session held in New Delhi in February 2020.

Czech defence companies have historically been regular suppliers to the Indian armed forces, providing equipment, components, and systems across various domains. They are now increasingly focused on collaborative development aligned with India’s self-reliance goals, including joint projects that integrate Czech expertise with India’s manufacturing ecosystem.

The current JDC discussions built on the outcomes of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s official visit to India in January 2024, when both nations acknowledged innovation as a cornerstone of future defence cooperation.

The visit produced a joint Ministry of External Affairs statement that highlighted mutual satisfaction with existing industry links and committed to advancing cooperation in R&D, training, and innovative production solutions involving stakeholders from both countries.

Beyond industrial cooperation, the 2025 JDC sessions reaffirmed shared priorities in cybersecurity, countering hybrid threats, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defence, and space security. India and Czechia also pledged to continue close coordination in multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, focusing on cyber governance and security issues of common concern.

Based On ANI Report