The Visegrád Group, comprising Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, along with India, called for a pragmatic approach towards energy security and diversification during the inaugural V4+India Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in New York.

Organised under the Slovak Presidency of the V4 on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the landmark session provided a structured platform to deliberate on expanding bilateral ties in defence, technology, innovation, and trade, as per an official statement issued by the Slovak foreign ministry.

Chaired by Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár, the historic assembly saw the active participation of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orbánová, Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, and Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. Key discussions centred around energy security alongside the disruption caused by global conflicts to critical international supply chains.

Highlighting the shared challenges, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár noted that India and the V4 nations face pressing issues linked to energy security, emphasizing the need for continued joint cooperation amidst shifting global market dynamics.

He remarked that he was personally pleased to exchange critical details on energy security, given that India, Europe, and the V4 nations all face immense challenges stemming from ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, which exert a profound impact on their respective economies.

The Slovak delegation underscored the necessity of maintaining a pragmatic, non-ideological perspective on energy matters, keeping economic and industrial competitiveness at the core. Concurrently, defence and technology emerged as foundational pillars for future engagement between India and the Central European bloc.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar described the session as a highly productive opportunity to collaborate with the Central European alliance, praising their formidable industrial, innovation, and technological prowess.

He termed the event a new historic occasion, noting that these nations possess very distinctive capabilities and strong industrial economies with vast pools of innovation and technology talent.

Expressing India's enthusiasm to explore deeper technology and innovation partnerships, Minister Jaishankar highlighted the robust, long-standing defence relations India shares with all four Visegrád members. He affirmed India's keen intent to refresh and take forward that established record of defence cooperation into a new era.

The high-level discussions also addressed pressing global geopolitical crises, including the conflict in Ukraine and emerging developments in the Gulf region. Minister Jaishankar reiterated that the comprehensive exchange was extremely worthwhile and productive, expressing overall satisfaction with the dialogue.

The inaugural meeting successfully institutionalised the V4+India format at the Foreign Ministers' level. Minister Blanár revealed that establishing this strategic platform was the fruit of an 11-year dedicated diplomatic push by Slovakia, hailing the achievement as a historic success for Slovak diplomacy in securing another major global external partner for the V4 group.

Economic cooperation, trade, and investment prospects were extensively evaluated during the session. Minister Blanár pointed to the upcoming EU–India Free Trade Agreement as a massive economic catalyst, stating that if everything proceeds as planned following updates shared by Minister Jaishankar, the FTA should be finalized around December. He added that India's status as a top global economic heavyweight presents immense trade opportunities for both the European Union and the Visegrád nations.

On the multilateral front, the ministers discussed crucial structural reforms within the United Nations system. Slovakia formally reaffirmed its steadfast support for India's candidature for a permanent seat on a reformed UN Security Council. Furthermore, both India and Slovakia confirmed mutual support for their respective candidatures for non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for the 2028–2029 term.

ANI