Prague: The Czech Republic Monday pledged
support to India's bid for a permanent membership in the UN
Security Council as well as a non-permanent seat in the top
world body in 2011-12.
This was conveyed by President Vaclav Klaus to
visiting Vice President Hamid Ansari during their 30-minute
bilateral meeting held here.
"The President reiterated the Czech Republic's support
for India's candidature for the non-permanent seat in the UNSC
for 2011-12 as well as India's permanent membership in the
UNSC," Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs
Vivek Katju told reporters here.
The Vice President is here as part of his first leg of
the six-day two-nation tour of Czech Republic and Croatia.
Katju described the meeting of the two leaders as
"warm and cordial".
"Both leaders expressed strong desire to enhance the
relationship, which is already strong, to a much better level,
in every way," he said.
Ansari also emphasised the need for ease on the
mobility of people as more and more people from India was
visiting the European nation with the enhancement of economic
and commercial activities.
During the meeting, Klaus and Ansari discussed matters
related to cooperation in economic and commercial activities,
science and technology and enhancement of cultural ties.
"India-Czech relationship marked, as the two leaders
noted, by political understanding and by the level of economic
and commercial activities.
“The two leaders expressed that this interaction of
economic and commercial activities between the two countries
should increase," Katju said.
The two leaders also emphasised that there should be
increase in interaction in science and technology with Ansari
saying that India has a desire to strengthen the ties as Czech
has expertise in this sector.
During the meeting, both the leaders discussed certain
international issues such as evolution of European Union in
which Czech Republic is a member.
"The Vice President noted that India has strong ties
with EU and India would like to develop the ties for mutual
benefits. The current developments in EU also discussed but
this was of course at the level of concept," he said.
During the visit of Ansari, India will sign three
agreements on economic cooperation, social security and
bilateral investment promotion with the Czech Republic.
Ansari is the senior-most Indian leader to visit the
Czech Republic in 14 years after the tour of late president
Shankar Dayal Sharma.
India has friendly, cordial and cooperative relations
with the Czech Republic. The relationship covers political,
economic and commercial fields as well as cooperation in
technology and culture exchanges.
Bilateral trade between India and the Czech Republic
is a little over USD 1 billion. Two-way investments by
companies have also been made. Czech investments in India are
in automobile and power sectors, whereas from India, companies
from automobiles and IT sectors have made investments in the
Czech Republic.
Ansari is accompanied by Minister of State for
Communications and Information Technology Sachin Pilot and MPs
Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Prasanta Chatterjee (CPI-M), Maya Singh
(BJP) and Mohammed Azharuddin (Congress).
The Vice-President will leave for Croatia from here on
June 9 for a two-day visit.
PTI
First Published: Monday, June 07, 2010, 18:45