President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, will pay a State Visit to Cyprus, Bulgaria and Czech Republic from September 2-9, 2018. President of India will be accompanied by Parshottam Khodabhai Rupala, Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Ministry of Panchayati Raj, two Members of Parliament Ram Shakal and Anil Baluni and other officials.
On the first leg of his three-nation tour, will visit Cyprus from 2-4 September, 2018 at the invitation of the President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades. The close alignment in world views of our founding fathers and great leaders, Mahatma Gandhi and President Archbishop Makarios III laid the foundations for the close relationship between India and Cyprus. The two countries share common values of democracy, rule of law and pluralism. India has substantial economic ties with Cyprus. Cumulative investment from Cyprus to India amounts to USD 9.2 billion, making it the 8th largest investor in India. There have been regular high-level exchanges between the two countries. The last visit from India at the level of Head of State was in 2009. The President of Cyprus came on a State Visit to India in April 2017.
During his visit, President of India will have a meeting with President Anastasiades, who will later in the day host a Banquet in honour of President of India. He will meet Demetris Syllouris, President of the House of Representatives and address an Extraordinary Session of the House of Representatives. President of India will deliver a lecture at the University of Cyprus and will also address the members of Indian Diaspora.
President of India will visit Bulgaria from 4-6 September, 2018 at the invitation of the President of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev. India and Bulgaria have close historical and cultural ties dating back to 8th century A.D. There are similarities between the old Indian script Brahmi and the ancient Bulgarian script Glagolitsa. 19th century Bulgarian Revolutionary Georgi Stoikov Rakovski was a great Indologist. Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore visited Bulgaria in 1926. In modern times, the popularity of Yoga, Ayurveda and Indian films in Bulgaria, as well as the experience of students of Indology at Sofia University have strengthened our bonds. India-Bulgaria annual trade stands at USD 315 million and a number of Indian companies are present in Bulgaria and vice-versa. The last visit from India at the level of Head of State was in 2003. Bulgarian Prime Minister visited India in 2007. Bulgaria held the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union from January to June 2018.
During the visit, President of India will have a meeting with President Radev, who will host a Banquet in the honour of President of India. Boyko Borissov, Prime Minister of Bulgaria will call on President of India.
President of India will address the business representatives of India and Bulgaria at a Business Forum. He will deliver a lecture at the Sofia University and will also address the members of Indian Diaspora during the visit.
President of India will visit Czech Republic from 6-9 September, 2018 at the invitation of the President of the Czech Republic, Milos Zeman. Indo-Czech relations are warm and friendly and pre-date India’s independence. Kingdom of Bohemia and Moravia traded with India in 9-10 century A.D. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose founded the Indo-Czech Association in Prague in 1934. Charles University had a Sanskrit Chair in 1850. In modern times, diplomatic relations were established in 1947, which has led to development of our multifaceted bilateral ties. India has substantial economic linkages with the Czech Republic. Our annual trade of over USD 1 billion and investment of around 60 Czech companies in India is testimony of our vibrant economic ties. Substantial investment has been announced by a Czech majors in automotive sector in ‘Make in India’.
The last visit from India at the level of Head of State was in 1996. Czech President was on a State visit to India in 2005 and Czech Prime Minister visited India in 2006. President of India’s visit coincides with 25th Anniversary of foundation of Czech Republic.
During the visit, President of India will have a meeting with President Zeman, who will host a Banquet in the honour of President of India. He will also meet with Andrej Babis, Prime Minister and with Radek Vondracek, President of the House of Deputies of Czech Parliament.
President of India will address the business representatives of India and the Czech Republic at a Business Forum. He will interact with students and Czech Indologists at the Charles University and address the members of Indian Diaspora. President of India will also visit ELI Beamlines- International Laser Research Institute during the visit. The ELI Beamlines research center aspires to install and run the world’s most intense laser system. These beamlines will enable groundbreaking research not only in the fields of physics and material science, but also in biomedical research and laboratory astrophysics.
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