The Visegrád Group (V4) countries — Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic — have backed India’s inclusion as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, with Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár saying India “must be at the table” as part of the UN’s top decision-making body.
Speaking at a press interaction after the first V4+India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Blanár, alongside External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, said, “We all agree as V4 countries that India, as a part of the Global South country, an upcoming superpower in the Indo-Pacific region, must be at the table as the permanent member of the UN Security Council.”
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday, under Slovakia’s presidency of the V4.
Jaishankar participated in the meeting along with Blanár, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, Czech Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, and Hungary’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Anita Orbán.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the ministers discussed ways to strengthen engagement between India and the Visegrád Group and took note of the strong bilateral relations between India and each of the four V4 countries.
The ministers said the V4+India format could complement existing bilateral ties and provide further momentum to cooperation in areas including trade and investment, technology and innovation, resilient supply chains, defence and security, connectivity, education, mobility and people-to-people exchanges.
They also discussed greater interaction among businesses, academic and research institutions and other stakeholders from India and the V4 countries.
On global issues, the ministers exchanged views on regional and international developments, peace and security, and cooperation in multilateral forums. They also discussed the need for reforming multilateral institutions and addressing contemporary global challenges, including those affecting the Global South.
In a post on X after the meeting, Jaishankar said the V4+India format had agreed to deepen cooperation across several areas.
“Delighted to join the Visegrád Group DPM & FM Radek Sikorski of Poland, DPM & FM Anita Orban of Hungary, FM Juraj Blanár of Slovakia and FM Petr Macinka of Czechia on the sidelines of UNGA81,” he said.
He added that the countries had agreed on closer political cooperation, including annual meetings of foreign ministers; deeper economic cooperation, including an annual business forum; stronger technology, innovation, research and education partnerships; renewed defence cooperation; greater cultural and people-to-people exchanges; and joint efforts to support multilateralism.
The MEA said the inaugural meeting marked an important step in establishing engagement between India and the Visegrád Group at the foreign ministers’ level.
It added that the V4+India format provides an additional platform for dialogue and cooperation, building on India’s longstanding and substantive relations with the V4 countries.
(ANI Inputs)
