By H.E. Robert Maxian, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic in New Delhi
In recent years, India and Slovakia have built a solid foundation of friendship. The relationship has significantly deepened, expanding across trade, politics, education, and culture. The bilateral engagements are now more vibrant and forward-looking than ever before.
A notable highlight in the growing political dialogue was the historic visit of the Indian President to Slovakia after a 29-year hiatus in April 2025. This visit was preceded by two high-level Slovak delegations in March. One led by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Education, accompanied by representatives of 14 Slovak universities, and another business delegation led by the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, joined by the Minister of Finance and the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. This mission marked Slovakia’s largest business delegation to India, crowned by the ceremonial reopening of the Honorary Consulate of Slovakia in Kolkata.
Earlier in February 2025, the 12th Indo-Slovak Joint Economic Commission was held in India, alongside the participation of a Slovak delegation at the International Engineering and Technology Fair (IETF 2025) in Delhi. Slovakia was presented at the national stand, highlighting new opportunities for collaboration. Within the first four months of 2025, the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Delhi has organised five business forums with B2B meetings, four of which were held in close and excellent cooperation with FICCI. These platforms facilitated meaningful business exchanges, networking, and the signing of numerous MoUs and partnerships, showcasing the strong synergy between the Slovak and Indian industries.
Cultural exchange has also flourished. In 2024 alone, four Slovak folklore groups performed in various Indian cities, including Delhi, Varanasi, and Lucknow. A landmark cultural milestone was achieved with the first-ever translation of the Upanishads into the Slovak language. Further enriching bilateral cultural ties, the upcoming “Days of Slovak Culture in Delhi” will present Slovak music, visual arts, and traditional crafts to the Indian audience in November 2025.
The realm of education is also witnessing a thriving partnership between Slovakia and India. In recent years, we have observed an ever-growing interest in Slovak universities and student exchange programmes. Leading with technical fields, there are many other options for Indian students, who find tuition fees and living costs more affordable than in other EU countries. Close cooperation is also evident among the Slovak Technical University in Kosice, IIIT Allahabad, and NIT Silchar in the areas of smart industry, autonomous mobility, and drone self-organisation. Therefore, we are trying to simplify the process of obtaining a student’s visa with more flexible options for visa applications, reducing bureaucracy, and increasing the number of consular officers at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic to process a larger number of visas.
On the economic front, the bilateral trade is reaching historic highs. For the first time, in 2024, the trade surpassed 1 billion EUR, eventually nearing 1.3 billion EUR. The growth continues in 2025 as well, with more than 750 million EUR recorded in just the first four months of 2025 and will easily touch 2 billion EUR this year. While the trade remains strong in traditional sectors such as automotive, engineering, and electronics, there is a noticeable shift toward emerging fields including green technologies, electric mobility, cybersecurity, disaster management, and space technology.
Several joint investment projects are already underway in green energy, such as biofuel plants, and in connectivity, including railway infrastructure, creating several hundred jobs in India. Slovak companies are making significant contributions in India in smart tunnel lighting systems, weather forecasting technology, and the rubber industry.
India’s dynamic and fast-evolving economy continues to draw global interest, and Slovakia is actively participating in this momentum. At the same time, Slovakia brings much to the table, including innovative technologies, high-quality industrial output, an open and stable economy, and competitive investment incentives. Looking ahead, all indicators suggest that Indo-Slovak cooperation will continue to expand across all sectors. The mutual trust, shared interests, and proactive engagement from both sides are laying the groundwork for a strategic, future-ready partnership that is set to reach new heights in the coming years.
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