The mechanism of cooperation between the four Visegrad countries and India, launched on 21 September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, adds another layer to the ever-closer India-EU partnership. It strengthens India’s relations with each V4 country and helps build a more balanced and multifaceted relationship with Europe.

The V4+India platform was launched at foreign minister level by Dr S. Jaishankar and his counterparts from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.  India is the third Asian country, after Japan and South Korea, to initiate this level of dialogue with the region. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stated that this format will “complement and add further momentum” to India’s relations with the V4 countries. It has already secured common support for India’s aspiration to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. The Slovak Presidency of the V4 added that the ministers had agreed to meet annually in this format and organise a V4+ Business Forum, as well as supporting cooperation in defence, energy, connectivity and new technologies. From an Indian perspective, this is the second sub-regional cooperation platform in Europe, alongside the NORDIC+ India established in 2018, in addition to the strategic partnership with the European Union as a whole.

This historical development is especially significant as the Visegrad countries have long been a blind spot in India’s foreign strategy, or “a road less travelled” as the MEA briefing from 2013 observed. Once close friends and partners in the USSR-led Eastern bloc, Central European countries lost relevance following the end of the Cold War. As they reoriented their policies towards the West, trade with India crumbled, political dialogue lost momentum, and people-to-people links were severed. By 2014, the twelve Central European countries that had joined the EU after 2004 were responsible for just 5% of EU27 trade with India.

However, the situation began to change under Prime Minister Modi. He was the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the region since the end of the Cold War. His visit to Poland in August was the first in 45 years. Similarly, Poland had been waiting for the Indian Minister of External Affairs for 32 years – until Dr. Jaishankar’s arrived there in August 2019. In 2024, India signed a Strategic Partnership with the Czech Republic, followed by one with Poland. Although the idea of cooperating with the V4 had been around for some time, it only took shape in September 2026. The launch of the new format signifies the increasing value of Central Europe in Indian foreign policy. And there are good reasons for that.

V4 countries have been among the fastest-growing in the EU over the last three decades. In 2025, Poland recorded the highest GDP growth in the EU at 3.6%, while the Czech Republic recorded growth of 2.5%, which was well above the EU average. Together, their combined economy was worth 1.7 trillion USD, which is half the size of India’s. If they were one country, it would have the fifth-largest economy in the EU and the third-largest market, with 63 million consumers (after Germany and France). As their economic potential has grown, so has their political influence.

Although they have experienced democratic backsliding in recent years, they have also become more assertive and influential within the Union. They spearheaded a shift in European migration policy, voiced objections to climate ambitions and backed Ukraine. Poland has influenced Europe’s position on Russia and its entire Eastern policy. Having previously been passive followers of larger countries, they can now set the European agenda on important issues for India, such as the Free Trade Agreement and security cooperation. Their position extends beyond the EU – they are Members of Nuclear Suppliers Group, as part of Eastern Europe they send their candidate as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. Poland has joined the G20 Summit in the US this year as a member. As key players in another regional format in Europe – Three Seas Initiative, they support North-South connectivity that can link Baltic Sea and Scandinavia with India via IMEEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor).

As a new engine of growth and a centre of political power in Europe, the V4 could provide an attractive platform for fostering interregional cooperation with India. This mechanism would contribute to the partnership with the EU, adding another layer of cooperation and unlocking the full potential of economic collaboration. The proposed V4+ India Business Forum could help match partners and create consortia that could compete more effectively in the large Indian market. A recent example from the defence sector is the proposal by the Polish state-owned enterprise PGZ to form a consortium with the Czech company Tatra, which is well known in India, to present the BAOBAB land-mining platform to India. This shows how it can work in practice.

While the economy may take the driving seat in V4+India cooperation, especially in the context of the EU-India FTA, the announced annual ministerial dialogue offers an opportunity to coordinate positions more effectively at a multilateral level. This could also lead to increased academic cooperation, student exchanges, and scholarships for Indians to become more familiar with Central Europe. While new instruments and mechanisms can enrich the partnership, the litmus test will be the organisation of a leaders’ summit in the near future. A visit by Prime Minister Modi to Warsaw or Budapest would signal India’s final return to Central Europe and help the Visegrad nations rediscover India. A more balanced engagement between India and Europe is on the horizon.