BRATISLAVA: Slovakia backed India’s bid for permanent membership in a “reformed” UN Security Council as the two countries elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark visit to the Central European nation.
In a joint statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Modi and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico on Monday, the two sides underlined the need for comprehensive reforms of multilateral institutions, including the United Nations and the UNSC, to make them “more representative, inclusive and reflective of contemporary geopolitical realities”.
The two leaders stressed the urgent need to expand the Security Council in both permanent and non-permanent categories.
“In this context, India appreciated Slovakia’s continued support for India’s permanent membership in a reformed and expanded United Nations Security Council,” the joint statement said.
Modi and Fico reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism with the United Nations at its core and agreed to coordinate closely in global forums, including the UN.
India has long been pressing for permanent membership in a reformed and expanded Security Council, contending that the current structure of the 15-member body is outdated and does not adequately reflect contemporary global realities.
New Delhi’s candidature has received backing from a growing number of countries, including several European nations, as well as the other members of the G4 grouping — Brazil, Germany and Japan.
UNSC comprises five permanent members — China, France, Russia, the UK and the US — and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.
Slovakia also reaffirmed its constructive approach towards India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a 48-nation multilateral export control regime.
Modi’s visit, the first by an Indian prime minister to Slovakia since the country’s independence in 1993, saw the two nations elevate their ties to a Comprehensive Partnership aimed at deepening cooperation across strategic, economic, technological and security domains.
Modi was in Bratislava as part of his weeklong visit to Europe.
The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific, respect for international law and freedom of navigation.
Modi and Fico also unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism.
They also strongly condemned the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22 last year, in which 26 people were shot dead by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists.
The two countries agreed to establish a Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and called for strong action against terrorists and entities designated by the UNSC’s 1267 Sanctions Committee, as well as their proxies, sponsors, financiers and supporters.
India and Slovakia also agreed to work closely towards the early finalisation and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the United Nations.
On defence cooperation, the two leaders agreed to strengthen collaboration in defence technologies, research and development, capacity building and defence industrial cooperation.
They welcomed the signing of a Letter of Intent on Defence Cooperation.
The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the protection of critical information infrastructure and in preventing and countering cybercrime, while promoting a secure, accessible, stable, interoperable, and resilient digital space.
The leaders also expressed their commitment to supporting each other in safeguarding information technology systems against emerging quantum threats to cryptography, including through preparedness for post-quantum security transitions.
Welcoming the conclusion of negotiations on the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement in January this year, the leaders called for its early signing and implementation to unlock new opportunities in trade and investment.
They agreed to further strengthen the role of the India-Slovakia Joint Economic Committee in identifying and promoting high-potential areas of economic cooperation between the two countries.
The two countries agreed to boost cooperation in sectors such as meteorology, hydrology, automotive manufacturing, electronics, railways, clean energy, healthcare, education, space technology and labour mobility.
India and Slovakia agreed to further strengthen collaboration in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, start-ups, innovation ecosystems, research institutions and technology companies, Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications.
They also encouraged exploring direct air connectivity between India and Slovakia to facilitate growing economic, business and people-to-people exchanges.