Transcript of Special briefing by MEA on the State Visit of the President of India to Portugal and Slovak Republic (April 04, 2025)
India - Ministry of External Affairs
April 04, 2025
Shri Rajesh Parihar, Director (XPD): Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you all to this special briefing by Secretary West, Shri Tanmaya Lal, on the Honorable Rashtrapati Ji's upcoming state visits to Portugal and Slovak Republic, which is beginning on 6th of April.
Also joining on the dais are Ms. Pooja Kapur, Additional Secretary for Central Europe, and Shri Piyush Srivastava, Additional Secretary for Europe-West, and Shri Ajay Singh, the Press Secretary to the President. With that, I now invite Secretary West to brief our friends from the media on the visit.
Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): Thank you, good afternoon, Namaskar.
So I will be talking about the two very important landmark visits coming up, state visits by President to Portugal and Slovakia. I will begin by Portugal.
This is a historic visit because it comes at a time when we are marking 50 years of the diplomatic relations between our two countries, and it is also 27 years since the last visit by a President from India to Portugal. So it is a very symbolic and landmark visit. The President will be travelling to Portugal at the invitation of His Excellency President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of Portugal.
In fact, President Sousa had visited India in 2020. A year earlier, in 2019, Prime Minister António Costa had visited India, and Prime Minister Modi had visited Portugal in 2017, and also earlier, Prime Minister Costa had visited India in 2017 also. So if we just see the last few years, there has been a very, very high-level exchange of visits between India and Portugal, and that shows the degree of high-level engagement that is ongoing between our two countries.
Our Prime Ministers, Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Montenegro, they had also met recently last year in November in Rio de Janeiro at the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
Also, just a few months back in December, the Foreign Minister of Portugal, His Excellency Paulo Rangel had visited India, and External Affairs Minister Dr. Jaishankar had visited Portugal in 2023. So it just shows how strong the political engagement and momentum is of the high-level visits, and coming at a time as we mark 50 years of our diplomatic relations, this visit will take this forward ... our friendship and partnership forward.
Between India and Portugal, there exists very strong goodwill. There is a long-standing historical context to our ties; very, very strong diaspora links; also unique cultural linkages ranging from food to art and architecture, music, language.
Another dimension of the India-Portugal relationship is the India-EU partnership, and there again the India-Portugal relationship adds to the strength of the India-EU relationship.
It is worth noting that during the Portuguese Presidency of the EU in the year 2000, the first India-EU summit had been hosted by Portugal. And also in 2021, the first ever India-EU Leaders' Summit was hosted under Portuguese Presidency. So this relationship has an important role in strengthening the strategic partnership between India and EU.
One more dimension at the multilateral and regional level is the association with the CPLP, which is the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, which has nine members, and India is an associate member in the CPLP.
If you look at the business ties, the trade is of the order of US$1.5 billion, and it has been growing steadily. There has been a 50% growth during the last five years. A range of areas of cooperation ... renewable energy, IT, pharmaceuticals, education, tourism and defense.
Portugal was also the first country in Europe with whom India had signed a Migration and Mobility Agreement.
For the State Visit that is upcoming now, the Honorable Rashtrapati ji will hold delegation-level talks with her counterpart, President de Sousa.
The President will also host a banquet dinner in her honor. The President will meet Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. She will also meet the Speaker of the Parliament of Portugal, Dr. José Pedro Aguiar-Branco. The Mayor of Lisbon will also host a special event in her honor.
The President will also meet members of the Indian community in Portugal, and she is likely to meet some Indian researchers from various universities and academic institutions.
Now I will turn to the visit to Slovakia.
Again, the State Visit of the President is a historic visit. It is nearly three decades, 29 years to be precise, since the last President visit to Slovakia from India. And this is only the second ever state visit from India to Slovakia. In recent years, there has been a lot of political engagement at a very high level.
The Foreign Minister of Slovakia have visited India during the last three years, 2023, 2024, and also this year. The visit also comes 30 years after the establishment of the Indian Embassy in Bratislava, which was done in 1995. The Foreign Minister, Juraj Blanar, had visited India recently, and last year the then Foreign Minister, Rastislav Káčer, had met the External Affairs Minister in Vienna.
The External Affairs Minister had also travelled to Bratislava a year before in 2023. Slovak Minister of Economy, Mr. Karel Hirman, had visited with a business delegation last year, and Foreign Office Consultations were also held last year.
So with Slovakia also there is a strong political momentum. At the same time, business engagement is going ... there is exchange of business delegations. There is significant investment by Indian companies in Slovakia in a range of sectors from Automobiles to Engineering to IT.
Slovakian businesses are also investing in India, again in very diverse fields, manufacturing steel, IT hardware, railways, and there are also long-standing defense ties. One of the satellites of Slovakia was launched by an Indian rocket, PSLV, in 2017.
The trade is of the order of €1.2 billion and investment is of the order of €1.7 billion from India into Slovakia.
Coming to the elements of the State Visit. There will be delegation level talks and meeting with the counterpart between the President and the President of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini. There will also be a meeting with the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Mr. Robert Fico.
The Honorable President will also meet the Speaker of the National Council, which is the Parliament of Slovakia, His Excellency Richard Rasi. The President of Slovakia will host a state banquet in the honor of our President, and she will also meet the Indian community. There are around 6,000 Indians living and working in Slovakia.
The relationship also has close cultural ties. There are strong connections, and studies of Sanskrit language in Slovakia. Mahatma Gandhi's works have been translated into Slovak language.
In one of the recent episodes of Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Modi had spoken about these translations of Upanishads into Slovak language. I may mention that in 2022, during the evacuation of Indian students from Ukraine, Slovakia had extended very valuable help.
India-Slovakia relations are also important in the context of India-EU partnership. In fact, Slovakia had joined the EU at the time when India and EU had launched the strategic partnership.
Both these state visits are coming at an important time in the individual bilateral partnerships. They are coming after a considerable period, but also at a very important moment in our partnerships.
These will provide a very strong push to our ties, both with Portugal and with Slovakia. They also reflect India's increasing engagement with individual countries in Europe. We recently had the successful visit of the College of Commissioners, led by the EC President.
We have also seen many other high-level visits between India and European partners. We are very much looking forward to these two state visits by the Honorable President to Portugal and Slovakia. Thank you.
Shri Rajesh Parihar, Director (XPD): Thank you sir. Now if there are any questions, floor is open.
Sidhant Sibal, WION: Hi sir, Sidhant from WION. Sir, in terms of Portugal, its role for India in the European Union, and also, will there be a conversation on India-EU FTA, something that both sides plan to conclude by end of this year? And my second question, on the diaspora component, how much that will be part of the visit, the focus, during the President's visit?
Krishna Mohan Sharma, Bharat Express: Sir, Krishna Mohan Sharma from Bharat Express. Is there any business delegation also traveling with the President of India?
Niraj Kumar, News18 India: Sir Niraj hoon News18 India se. Sir, donon deshon ki tarikhain kya hongi, 6 April se daure ki shurwat hogi, agar donon deshon ki alag-alag tarikhon ki baat karain.
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, I'm Niraj from News18 India. Could you please the specific dates for the visits to both countries? Will the visit begin on April 6, and if so, could you clarify the separate dates for each country?
Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): Okay, so I will start with the dates. The days of engagement for Portugal are 7th and 8th of April, and for Slovakia, 9th and 10th April.
There will be a business component, especially in Slovakia, for which there will be Indian business people also traveling.
On the question regarding the India-EU partnership, as I mentioned, Portugal has always played a very important role in deepening the India-EU partnership. I had mentioned that way back in 2000, during the Portuguese Presidency, the first India-EU Summit had been hosted by them. And also, 2021, the first ever Leaders' Summit between India and EU, where all the leaders from all individual EU partner countries had attended this summit. So the India-Portugal relationship has a very strong element of India-EU partnership.
You referred to the possibility of discussion. Yes, the areas of mutual interest will be discussed. About the India-EU FTA, as you would remember, during the recent visit of the College of Commissioners, led by the President of EC, Ursula von der Leyen, both the leaders, Prime Minister Modi and the President of the European Commission, had decided to direct their teams to finalize the India-EU FTA within this year.
So that has been a very clear direction and the negotiations are ongoing. Both teams are taking forward the process in a very strong manner, and we are very hopeful that the FTA will be finalized soon. And as you may know, the Trade Commissioner from the European Commission side is Mr. Maroš, who has been discussing with the Commerce and Industry Minister. They have had meetings, and he is from Slovakia.
In terms of diaspora links, because of our historical links, very strong diaspora links. It is estimated that perhaps 120,000 persons of Indian origin are living in Portugal, and that is a very substantial number for a country which has a population of 10 million. The Indian diaspora has been active in all sectors in Portugal, so all cross-sections of public life, ranging from government to diplomacy to politics to business, entrepreneurs, educationists, jurists. So it is a very, very vibrant community.
A very large section of this community ... they come from all over India, but also in significant numbers from Goa, from Gujarat, from Punjab. The former Prime Minister of Portugal, His Excellency António Costa, as you know, he is of Indian origin. He is currently the President of the European Council. He is also a recipient of the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman. So all this reflects the very close diaspora links that exist between India and Portugal.
Rishabh Madhavendra Pratap, Times Now: Secretary, Good Evening, Rishabh from Times Now. In diplomacy, if the President is travelling, there has to be something with the timing of this visit. Is there anything significant about the timing of this visit, if we can have an in-depth knowledge about what is behind the visit, why now, and what are we trying to achieve from this visit?
Jayanti: Good Evening sir. Sir what is the engagement that's planned with the Indian Disapora in both Portugal and in Slovakia?
[Inaudible]
Niraj Kumar, News18 India: [Inaudible] ... Uske baad pichle saal wahan ke Videsh mantri bhi aaye the aur unhone bhi jo hamare Vanijya mantri hain, Videsh mantri se tamam muddon par batchit hui thi, chahe woh digital infra ho, green hydrogen ho, tamam muddon par sahmatiyan bani thi kuch toh. Abhi jo Rashtrapati ji ka daura hone ja raha hain toh un sahmatiyon ko kya kuch anuband mei tabdil hone ki sambhavana hain kuch? Hum MoUs aur karne ja rahe hain, jo sahmatiyan khastaur par december ki visit mei bani thi jab unke Videsh mantri aaye the.
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Following that, last year their Foreign Minister also visited India, and during his visit, there were detailed discussions with our Commerce and External Affairs Ministers on a range of issues—including digital infrastructure, green hydrogen, and others. Certain areas of agreement were reached at that time.
Now, with the upcoming visit of the President, is there a possibility that those earlier understandings will be formalized into agreements? Are we likely to see MoUs being signed, particularly on the points of convergence identified during the Foreign Minister's visit in December?
Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): So about the timing of the visit, yes, of course, as I mentioned, both are very, very significant. If you look at the state visit to Portugal, it comes at a time when we are celebrating 50 years landmark of establishment of our diplomatic relations. And that is a very, very important signal.
It also gives a signal how ... what I mentioned was the series of high-level engagement that have taken place in the last seven to eight years. It reflects that the momentum is strongly carried forward. We value our partnership with Portugal and this visit, which at the present level comes after nearly 27 years, gives a very, very important signal.
And it has significance not only in the bilateral context but also in the EU and the CPLP and other multilateral contexts.
Similarly, for Slovakia, the State visit comes ... this is only the second ever visit by a President from India to Slovakia. Slovakia is also an important EU member.
The visit comes after nearly 29 years. So it again shows ... although it builds up on the recent visits by Foreign Minister level and other Ministers level, but coming at a head of state it conveys a very, very important signal as to the importance that both countries hold of this partnership.
Both the countries are, as I mentioned, important EU members. And as we upgrade our partnership even further with the European Union, which was recently evidenced during the visit of the President of European Commission, all these things contribute to each other. And that reflects the timing and the significance of both India-Portugal and India-Slovakia partnership coming at this time.
Aapne pucha tha Portugal ke jo abhi recent vartalap hua tha hamare Pradhan Mantri ke star par Brazil mei, aur kai jo areas par baat hui thi. Agar hum areas of cooperation dekhein, Portugal ke sath, toh maine kuch ka jikar bhi kiya tha aur woh bahot hi wide ranging hain, renewable energy se leke IT, education, innovation, start-ups. Renewable energy mein for example, green hydrogen, talent mobility.
Portugal ek pehla desh tha Europe mei jisne ki MMPA India ke sath sign kiya. Pharmaceutical. Pichle saalon mei itni high-level visits, jinka maine jikar kiya Mantri level par but also Head of State aur Head of Government level par, toh ye continuous process hain. Ismei hum donon deshon ke businesses increasingly ek dusre ke sath kaam kar rahe hain aur bahot hi vyapak tarike se alag-alag keshtron mei ye kaam chal raha hain. Inhi par ye jo State visits hain, isko badhava degi aur isko aage le jane mei madad karegi.
[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] You had asked about the recent discussions held between our Prime Minister and the leadership of Portugal during the visit to Brazil, and the various areas that were covered in those talks.
If we look at the areas of cooperation with Portugal, I had already mentioned a few, and they are quite wide-ranging—spanning renewable energy, IT, education, innovation, and start-ups. In the renewable energy sector, for example, there was specific discussion on green hydrogen and talent mobility.
Portugal was the first European country to sign the MMPA (Mobility and Migration Partnership Agreement) with India. Pharmaceuticals is another important area of engagement.
Over the past few years, we've seen a number of high-level visits—not just at the Ministerial level, but also at the level of Heads of State and Government. This is part of a continuous process.
Our businesses are increasingly engaging with each other, and across diverse sectors, this collaboration is deepening. These upcoming state visits will help further strengthen these ties, and take our cooperation to the next level.
Diaspora events... Both in Portugal and Slovakia, President will have an occasion to meet the members of the Indian community. I am not sure of the exact numbers in each place, but it would be a very substantive cross-section of the Indian community in both places.
Sidhant Sibal, WION: Sir just on the FTA bit. Will this visit help fast-track the FTA in light of the decisions announced by US President Donald Trump? Do you think that more political push will come with the President's visit to fast-track this FTA in light of the decision?
Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): There is a very broad understanding and mutual commitment on both sides to understand the value of the FTA. This has been discussed at various levels, at the Leadership level, both at the India-EU level and also between the leaders of India and individual countries. And while the FTA is negotiated by the European Commission on the EU side, they are also taking direction from the leaders in individual countries.
So we engage with both Leadership, EC and all the other stakeholders to see how this can be taken forward. And in all important conversations, this is one of the areas of discussion. And all such discussions also improve the mutual understanding of the importance of the early finalization of an FTA. Thank you.
Shri Rajesh Parihar, Director (XPD): With that, we come to the closure of this special media briefing. The visit begins on 6th of April, so I suggest all of you to stay tuned with us for any further update regarding the visit. And I thank you all for being with us.
New Delhi
April 04, 2025
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