EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On Tuesday, 30th June 2026, Eunoia Horizons s.r.o. together with Indian partner Movastacon Foundation, held a webinar on the EU-India Free Trade Agreement: Czech-Indian Strategic Opportunities on the occasion of the EU-India Free Trade Agreement, whose negotiations were concluded in January 2026, with formal signing now expected in Brussels this December. The aim of this event was to help explore business opportunities for companies on both sides and possible cooperation in Defence, Automotive and Smart Technology sectors. The Agreement entered its critical legal-scrubbing phase on the same day of the webinar, as confirmed by the Ambassador Robert Zischg to India only hours before the webinar, underscoring the advances made to bring the Agreement to a reality. The webinar brought representatives from both the Czech and Indian embassies, the Czech-Indian Chamber of Commerce and representatives from the private sector that shared their insights and opinions on “How the FTA can bring new closer cooperation between the Czech Republic and India?” and “What are the benefits and gaps in the newly concluded Agreement?”
WEBINAR’S AGENDA
Opening remarks
Dr. Prakash Shelat – First Secretary and Head of Commercial Wing, Embassy of India in the Czech Republic
Presentation 1: EU-India FTA & the New Geopolitical Order
H.E. PhDr. Eliška Žigová – Ambassador of the Czech Republic in India
Presentation 2: Defence, Automotive&Smart Tech
Maj. Gen. Sanjay Soi (Retd.) – Executive Director, Movastacon Foundation
Petr Dolejší – Mobility & Sustainable Transport Director, The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association
Presentation 3: Strategic Challenges & Future Pathway
Jan Musil – the President of the Czech-Indian Chamber of Commerce
Closing remarks
Mohit Srivastava – Founder and President, Movastacon Foundation
Mgr. Tomáš Petříček, Ph.D. – Founder and CEO, Eunoia Horizons
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The EU-India FTA brings a new future in the Czech-Indian cooperation
- The Czech Republic has world-class engineering, precision manufacturing, and industrial know-how;
- Indian companies have investment interests in the Czech Republic in IT services, pharmaceuticals, automotive components, electronics and business services;
- Key opportunity areas are identified in joint production and licensed manufacturing (e.g., for land systems, mobility platforms, aerospace subsystems, etc.);
- The newly founded Czech-Indian Chamber of Commerce aims at improving and strengthening ties between Czech and Indian companies, and it represents an important connection between Czech and Indian cooperation;
- India is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, while the Czech Republic opens a new gate to Europe for India.
- There is a history of strong Czech-Indian Defence relations
- The Czech Republic and India have over 80 years of defence collaboration;
- From 2024 both countries signed a Strategic Partnership on Innovation;
- A lot of cooperation is based on Memorandum of Understandings;
- Presence of Czech defence companies like Tatra (e.g., providing artillery vehicles for Indian army);
- Key opportunities are identified in cooperation in drones, counter-drone, technologies, cyber, AI-enabled systems and defence electronics.
- Automotive and Smart Tech is another key sector for European-Czech-Indian cooperation
- Czech present companied in India, such as Škoda Auto and Jawa;
- There are growing Czech investments in India;
- Collaboration in EV-related systems, smart mobility, transport engineering and integrated supply chains;
- Collaboration in Smart Tech sector – AI, cyber security, applied research and others.
- Strong Czech-Indian relations are grouped under newly established the Czech-Indian Chamber of Commerce
- Established in 2025 in Prague;
- Growing number of members from India and Czech Republic;
- The Chamber’s main goals are to:
- Improve perception (the Czech and Indian Government and public perception of other market);
- Simplify mobility (to deepen common cooperation);
- Facilitate expansion (to bring new members to the Chamber to help them with market entries, etc.);
- Change model (to enhance governments’ support);
- Grow network.
CONCLUSION
The Free Trade Agreement concluded between the European Union and India represents a new geopolitical strengthening between both partners. As the Czech Republic is considered a gateway to Central Europe, this is a unique opportunity for both Czech and Indian companies to connect their relations and transform them into new cooperation in prospective sectors such as defence, automotive, smart tech, AI, IT, and others. Both countries‘ ties are newly supported by the Czech-Indian Chamber of Commerce, helping the companies to find what they look for, and working on improving bilateral cooperation such as assisting in securing a more accessible visa regime between the countries.
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