Mumbai, October 24, 2024: “Slovakia is a small country with big heart. More than 85% of our foreign trade is within EU. But in the last one year, many Slovak companies have shown interest to trade and invest in India. We are keen to partner with India in green hydrogen, R&D, heavy engineering, wastewater treatment, cyber security and other areas. In February this year, a delegation of 20 Slovak companies visited India led by Slovak foreign minister. Slovak companies have invested in biofuel, railway bogey manufacturing, cyber security, metallurgy and other sectors in recent years. Slovak company Tatravagonka a.s., Poprad has invested Rs. 2,500 crore in Odisha on railway bogey manufacturing plant in association with a local partner. Similarly, Envien International has invested in a biofuel plant in Uttar Pradesh recently,” said H.E. Mr. Robert Maxian, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to India at an interactive meeting organised by WTC Mumbai and All India Association of Industries (AIAI).
In the area of green hydrogen, the Ambassador mentioned, “Slovakia has successfully tested use of hydrogen, especially green hydrogen in heavy vehicles such as buses. We have two Hydrogen Transport Hubs in Slovakia. We have done feasibility studies on green hydrogen in vehicles in Georgia and Albania and we want to partner with India in this technology.”
The Ambassador mentioned that in the last five years, two-way trade has doubled to Euro 861 million (2023) and he aims to grow this to Euro 1 billion this year. He expressed keen interest to promote collaboration in film production as Slovakia offers cash rebate of 30% on investment made on film production in his country.
H.E. Mr. Maxian expressed interest to expand presence of Slovakian companies in Maharashtra in areas such as weather forecasting technologies, cyber security, waste water management, metallurgy and so on.
He said, “Slovak company Micro Step is working with Indian Metrological Department on weather monitoring & forecasting technology. We are also working with Central Water & Power Research Institute, Pune on water management. Maharashtra has huge water resources and dams and water management is a priority for Maharashtra. Our companies have technologies in biological treatment, wastewater management and these technologies are known for reliability, effectiveness, scalability and modularity. We have sold our water treatment technologies to more than 200 plants in China.”
The Ambassador also hinted at potential collaboration in defence manufacturing, automobile and engineering sectors. Slovak companies are already helping Indian defence forces in upgrading military equipments in Ahmednag
Slovak companies are also fering cyber security solutions, secure communications and data management solutions to the police department in West Bengal based on Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain technologies.
Other areas of collaboration are unmanned aerial vehicles, aerospace, early warning system for disaster and so on, the Ambassador highlighted.
The Ambassador invited Indian companies to invest in Slovakia as it is part of the Schengen Area, Euro Zone and 600 million consumers are within the radius of 2,000 km from Slovakia.
Earlier in his welcome address, Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC Mumbai and President, All India Association of Industries (AIAI) remarked, “India and Slovakia can collaborate in heavy engineering, railways, tourism, film production, green energy and other sectors. Slovak companies have already invested in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and they are looking seriously to expand in Maharashtra.”
Dr. Kalantri further added, “Slovakia is a world leader in car production per capita. Many large Indian brands or companies such as Tata Jaguar Land Rover, TCS, CK Birla and Amara Raja Batteries have operations in Slovakia. Indian auto-component manufacturers and other industries can invest in Slovakia and export to entire European Union. India-Slovakia trade is set to touch Euro 1 billlion soon. India has USD 470 million worth untapped export potential to Slovakia. India exports garments, auto-components, iron ore, tiles and other products, while it imports passenger cars, luxury cars, processing machines, defence equipments, cables and bearings.”
Dr. Kalantri informed that the proposed India-EU FTA has great potential to boost bilateral trade and investment and he suggested expeditious negotiations of the agreement for mutual benefit.
Dr. Kalantri pointed out that All India Association of Industries and WTC Mumbai had the privilege to host Hon’ble President of Slovakia in Mumbai when he inaugurated the Honorary Consulate of Slovakia in Mumbai. “We also had the opportunity to host Hon’ble Finance Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister of Slovakia in Mumbai in the past,” Dr. Kalantri added.
In his remarks, Mr. Amit Choksey, Honorary Consul, Honorary Consulate of Slovakia in India pointed out that Slovakia can partner with India in green technologies, heavy engineering and R&D. The ongoing negotiation on free trade agreement with the EU will give a major boost to our bilateral trade, once it is finalized and implemented.
He further pointed out that Slovakia and India share common values such as ‘Rule of Law’, Democracy and multi-lateral response to global challenges.
Mr. Choksey remarked that the Ambassador of Slovakia has rich experience in diplomacy and he has built strong bridge between Indian industry and the Slovak government to promote two-way trade and investment.
Capt. Somesh Batra, Vice Chairman, MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai proposed vote of thanks for the event. Capt. Batra mentioned that Slovakia has huge potential to contribute to India’s Make in India programme, especially in areas such as automobile, heavy engineering, defence and so on.
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