India and the Czech Republic have agreed to expand defence industrial collaboration, the Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.
The ministry said the decision was an outcome of bilateral talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Karel Havlíček, the Czech Republic’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade.
At the meeting, the two leaders reviewed the entire spectrum of defence industrial cooperation between the two countries and welcomed the ongoing collaboration and the successful establishment of various joint ventures.
“They agreed to further expand this cooperation, including under the aegis of India-Czech Joint Defence Committee to promote “Make-in-India” and “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, the Ministry of Defence said.
The two leaders discussed the ongoing issues of peace and security and acknowledged the need for greater cooperation to maintain regional stability. Singh and Havlíček reiterated that the partnership between India and the Czech Republic is based on historical and cultural ties, and shared values of mutual trust and respect.
Havlíček is on a four-day visit to India and is interacting with various ministries, trades and businesses. He is scheduled to visit various industries in Bengaluru and Mumbai during his stay.
Ties date back the Cold War
The India- Czech relationship dates back to the Cold War (1945-1991). Then known as Czechoslovakia, this European nation, was a Soviet-bloc industrial and arms producer, and India was a major user of Soviet-origin equipment. Czech firms have deep knowledge of Soviet weaponry.  The best-known legacy item is the “Tatra heavy truck”. They have been licence-built in India by BEML since decades and are used widely by the Indian Army for logistics, missile launcher carriers and other heavy roles.
In early 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala agreed to elevate relations to a strategic partnership on innovation. Defence technology falls under this partnership.
Back in 2024, talks were centred around Czech firms providing maintenance, spares and equipment to the Indian army and air force, building on shared use of Soviet and Russian-made platforms. This matters as Russia’s defence industry has faced delays due to the Ukraine conflict, and India has been diversifying its suppliers.
In October 2025, the Czech Ministry of Defence and the Indian Embassy held the second “India Meets Czechia – Let’s Talk Business” seminar.
Talks were focused on aligning manufacturing and technology sharing with NATO standards for interoperability, and explored joint production, R&D and drone and anti-drone systems.
In February 2026, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Czech Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka at the Munich Security Conference to discuss economic and defence collaboration.