India Czech defence cooperation is set to widen after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with Karel Havlíček, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Both sides agreed to expand their defence industrial collaboration.

The two leaders reviewed the entire range of defence industrial cooperation between the two countries. They welcomed the ongoing collaboration and the joint ventures already set up, according to the Ministry of Defence.

India Czech defence cooperation to grow under Joint Defence Committee

The expansion will run partly through the India-Czech Joint Defence Committee. The ministry said the aim was to promote Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Joint production has long been part of India Czech defence cooperation.

Talks also covered peace and regional stability

Beyond industry, the Defence Minister and Havlíček discussed current issues of peace and security. They agreed that greater cooperation was needed to maintain regional stability. Both sides reiterated that the partnership rests on historical and cultural ties and on shared values of mutual trust and respect.

Havlíček leads Czech business delegation on four-day visit

Havlíček is meeting various Indian ministries, trade bodies and businesses during the visit. He is scheduled to visit industries in Bengaluru and Mumbai before he leaves.

Defence among the sectors on the Czech mission's list

A business mission organised by the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic is travelling with him, led by its president Jan Rafaj. The organisers listed defence, aerospace, automotive, railways, energy and engineering among the sectors where Czech firms are seeking Indian partners. The mission includes companies already working in India as well as firms looking to enter the market for the first time.

Before leaving Prague, Havlíček told reporters the plane was full of business people, according to Czech media reports. He said the goal was to sell more trains, aircraft, engineering goods and defence industry products in India. A number of contracts had been negotiated in advance, he added.

This is not his first trip. Havlíček visited Ahmedabad, Pune and Delhi in January 2019 with a delegation led by then Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.

The visit comes in a busy autumn of European defence engagement. In September the Defence Minister held talks in New Delhi with Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken, a visit that also saw ten India-Belgium defence industry agreements signed. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh is in Cyprus and Greece this week.

Defence ties go back to a 2003 agreement

India and the Czech Republic signed an agreement on defence cooperation in Prague in October 2003. Then Defence Minister George Fernandes signed it with his Czech counterpart Miroslav Kostelka, and the two sides agreed to set up a joint committee on defence cooperation.

Joint production was already under way at the time. Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) and Czech firm Tatra were building trucks together for the Indian Army, and the 2003 talks decided to give BEML a bigger role in that production. Other subjects discussed then included the upgrade of T-72 tanks and Mi series helicopters, and protective equipment for nuclear, biological and chemical warfare.

The two countries later adopted a Joint Statement on the India-Czechia Strategic Partnership on Innovation, which covers defence among other high-technology fields.

The Joint Defence Committee held its seventh meeting in Prague from October 7 to 9, 2025. Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition) A Anbarasu led the Indian side. Radka Konderlova, Director General of Industrial Cooperation at the Czech Ministry of Defence, headed the Czech delegation. The two sides agreed to work towards a Plan of Action to build new areas of cooperation.

A 20-member Indian defence industry delegation travelled with the committee to Prague for a seminar with Czech companies.