India, Czech Republic should mutually develop defence equipment: President

President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday said defence was a "key pillar" of relationship between India and Czech Republic as he called for mutual development and production of defence equipment by the two nations.

Kovind said this during a meeting with Czech Republic's Prime Minister Andrej Babis at Rashtrapati Bhavan, a spokesperson said.

He said Kovind welcomed the visiting dignitary and said that along with an economic partnership, defence is a key pillar of India-Czech bilateral relations.

The President expressed hope that the two countries will move forward from a traditional buyer-seller relationship to one where the two can co-develop and co-produce defence equipments, the spokesperson said.

Kovind also fondly remembered his own visit to the Czech Republic in September 2018 as he said that India counts the country as a key partner in its growth story.

He thanked the Czech Republic government for hosting the 'Czech Make in India' pavilion at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Gandhinagar, the spokesperson said.

Kovind added that there are immense opportunities for Czech technology and manufacturing in India.