When India’s president visited Bratislava this spring, the ceremony was grand. Yet despite the warm gestures and record trade figures, relations between Bratislava and New Delhi remain underdeveloped and lack a clear strategic direction—and without one, Slovakia risks being left behind as the rest of Europe deepens its engagement with India.
Key takeaways:
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Slovakia’s relations with India remain largely confined to political engagements on the sidelines of multilateral forums and lack a coherent strategic direction.
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While economic cooperation is expanding, it continues to face obstacles such as trade imbalances, protectionist policies, and limited investment—challenges that call for targeted policy responses.
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To advance the partnership, Slovakia should focus on strengthening political dialogue, deepening economic diplomacy, and fostering closer people-to-people connections.
When Indian President Droupadi Murmu arrived in Bratislava in In April 2025, becoming the first Indian head of state to visit Slovakia in nearly three decades, the symbolism of the much-anticipated visit was unmistakable. Slovakia welcomed her with full honors, and she was received by President Peter Pellegrini, Prime Minister Robert Fico, and Speaker of Parliament Richard Raši. Yet once the ceremonial program concluded, a familiar question resurfaced: what’s next? Despite Slovakia’s proclaimed “all-azimuth” foreign policy, its relations with India still lack strategic depth.
By contrast, the EU has significantly intensified its engagement with India in recent years. This is evident in more frequent high-level contacts, such as the visit of a European Commission delegation led by President Ursula von der Leyen to New Delhi in February 2025. The Commission has since unveiled a new EU–India Strategic Agenda aimed at boosting trade, technological cooperation, and investment flows. Moreover, the long-discussed free trade agreement, now under negotiation by Slovak EU Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, is expected to give these efforts a substantial push.
Underdeveloped potential of Slovak–Indian relations
At first glance, relations between Slovakia and India appear to be thriving. Economically, bilateral trade has reached new records year after year, hitting $1.4 billion in 2024. India has become a significant investor in Slovakia, led by Tata Motors’ €1.4 billion investment in the Jaguar Land Rover plant in Nitra. Smaller Indian ventures have also emerged in IT services, electric vehicle batteries, and advanced engineering. On the Slovak side, investments in India include projects in light weapons production, biofuels, rail freight services, and virtual reality simulators for the Indian Air Force.
Yet, viewed in a broader context, the numbers tell a more modest story. While $1.4 billion in trade may sound impressive, India accounts for just 0.6% of Slovakia’s total trade, while Slovakia makes up only 0.1% of India’s. The exchange also remains narrow and unbalanced. Indian exports dominate, consisting largely of mobile phones, footwear, clothing, car parts, and pharmaceuticals. Slovak exports, by contrast, are heavily concentrated in automobiles, which make up nearly one-third of total exports to India. The anticipated EU–India free trade agreement could help broaden and rebalance this trade relationship.
Political engagement remains similarly uneven. Slovak diplomats frequently travel to New Delhi, though most of these visits take place on the sidelines of multilateral forums, while visits from Indian officials to Bratislava are rare. This weak dynamic reflects a deeper issue — the absence of a coherent strategic vision. India remains only marginally discussed in Slovak foreign policy debates, and while the current government professes an “all-azimuth foreign policy,” its practical focus continues to center overwhelmingly on China and Russia.
What’s next for Slovakia’s interests?
How can Slovakia elevate its relationship with India from symbolic gestures to substantive cooperation? A recent paper by the Central European Institute of Asian Studies offers several practical recommendations, summarized in four key areas.
First, Slovakia needs to deepen mutual political engagement. President Murmu’s visit should not remain an isolated event but rather serve as a foundation for reciprocal high-level exchanges. Reviving the parliamentary friendship group with India would send a positive signal, as would greater coordination between ministries and think tanks. Most importantly, Slovakia should articulate a clear strategic framework for cooperation with India as part of its broader Indo-Pacific engagement.
Second, economic diplomacy requires reinforcement, particularly in removing bureaucratic and legal barriers. While the EU–India free trade agreement will be an important milestone, more should be done at the bilateral level. Notably, Slovakia and India currently lack a valid investment protection agreement. Renewing it would enhance investor confidence. To attract more Indian capital, Slovakia must also improve the competitiveness of its investment environment, which still trails behind its Visegrad Group (V4) neighbors.
Third, Bratislava should make better use of regional formats. Despite internal frictions, the V4 remains a potentially useful diplomatic platform for engagement with India and for organizing joint regional visits. Establishing a structured V4+India dialogue—similar to the V4’s existing partnerships with Japan, South Korea, and the Nordic countries—would offer India an efficient channel for engaging Central Europe, while giving Slovakia greater influence in shaping a collective regional agenda.
Finally, people-to-people ties deserve greater attention. Academic and cultural exchanges could be expanded through reciprocal scholarships, university partnerships, and institutional collaborations, ideally also within a V4+India framework.
The ongoing rapprochement between India and the European Union presents Slovakia with significant opportunities. Whether these are realized will depend on Bratislava’s initiative. Slovakia must translate symbolic diplomacy into a coherent, sustained policy toward India or risk being left on the sidelines as Europe redefines its relationship with one of the world’s most important partners.
This article was originally published in Slovak by Pravda.
