President Kovind arrives in Czech Republic on final leg of his three-nation tour

President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in the Czech Republic Thursday on the final leg of his three-nation European tour during which he will hold talks with his counterpart Milos Zeman, Prime Minister Andrej Babis and President of the Chamber of Deputies.

He is the fifth Indian President to visit the central European country, and the first since President Shankar Dayal Sharma in 1996, the President's Secretariat said.

Kovind earlier visited the Czech Republic in his capacity as a Member of Parliament.

President Kovind arrived here from Bulgaria where he met Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and invited companies from the Balkan nation to manufacture in India as part of the ambitious 'Make in India' programme.

During his stay in Prague, President Kovind will meet with President Zeman, Prime Minister Babis and President of House of Deputies Radek Vondracek. He will also attend a business forum meet.

Over 60 Indian companies are travelling for the event and an equal number of Czech companies will take part in business-to-business interactions there, according to Indian officials.

President Kovind will have interactions with Indologists at the Charles University in Prague, which had a Sanskrit chair way back in 1850, they said.

He will also visit the ELI Beamlines -- International Laser Research Centre -- which aspires to install and run the world's most intense laser system.

The Czech Republic, a member of the European Union, is technologically advanced and strategically located in Central Europe.

The trade between India and the Czech Republic is USD 1.07 billion annually. It is a fast growing economic storehouse in Central Europe. Many Czech companies have made investments in India in different sectors.