India is planning to boost economic ties with the erstwhile communist states of Eastern Europe and with Southern Europe amid inroads by China as part of its mega infrastructure project, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The upcoming back-to-back visits by President Ram Nath Kovind to Cyprus, Bulgaria and Czech Republic ( September 2-9) followed by a visit by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu to Malta, Serbia and Romania (mid-September) will underline India’s focus on this part of the world. This will be Kovind’s second visit to the region, after he outlined India’s Europe policy during his trip to Greece a few months ago.
India enjoyed close relations with the Eastern European bloc during the period of the Soviet Union, and it is keen to enter these flourishing markets as well as seek technology and funds as opposition to BRI rises in Europe.
China has promised huge investments in the Eastern and Central Europe, augmented by the 16 (Eastern-Central Europe) +1 (China) process. India’s focus on this region is significant in this context.
Cyprus, an unambiguous supporter of India’s position on Kashmir for decades, is the country’s gateway to the Mediterranean, North Africa, Southern Europe and even parts of West Asia. Cyprus is the eighth largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India. From April 2000 to June 2017, the cumulative investment flows to India from Cyprus were $ 9.278 billion. The FDI came mainly in construction and real estate sectors.
Indo-Czech ties span from culture to investment to Indology. Indian companies have invested in Czech Republic in sectors such as IT, tea, textiles, pharmaceutical, automobiles and auto components. Following on the original investments of Skoda Auto, Skoda Power and Tatra, there are a number of new and prospective Czech investment projects in India in the machinery, transportation, power and automotive sectors. Czech Republic is among the developed economies of Europe which are keen to step up trade with India.
Serbia, one of the countries carved out of erstwhile Yugoslavia, is keen to revive ties with India and is the only European nation to offer a 30-day visa-free entry to Indians. The decision has enabled India’s manufacturers and film industry to take advantage of its European location. Similarly, Bulgaria too is emerging as a popular destination for the film industry.
President Kovind will be accompanied by a strong business delegation to Bulgaria. The country is providing a platform for IT industry and cybersecurity related applications.
Three other countries in that region – Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – are also seeking to attract India to Eastern and Central Europe. Hungary and Poland had also witnessed high-level visits from India in the past few years. These three together with Czech Republic form a group – V-4 or Visegrad-4 (all European Union member states) for the purposes of advancing military, cultural, economic and energy cooperation with one another along with furthering their integration in the EU.
Experts said that the V-4 provides India an appropriate platform to engage with Eastern and Central Europe amid China’s 16+1 process for the region. All four nations in the group figure very high on the Human Development Index and have enjoyed more or less steady economic growth. If counted as a single nation state, the Visegrád Group would be the fifth largest economy in Europe and the 12th largest in the world, presenting India with a huge opportunity.
Interestingly, the V4 countries are pro-nuclear power. They have sought to counter what they see as an anti-nuclear power bias within the EU, believing their countries would benefit from nuclear power’s zero emissions and high reliability.
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