President Murmu accorded ceremonial welcome in Slovakia

Bratislava: President Droupadi Murmu was on Wednesday received by President Peter Pellegrini of the Slovak Republic at the Presidential Palace here.

Murmu arrived here Wednesday on the second leg of her two-nation visit, becoming only the second Indian Head of State to visit the Slovak Republic.

She was extended a traditional Slovak welcome with bread and salt by a couple in folk dress.

"President Droupadi Murmu was received by President Peter Pellegrini of the Slovak Republic at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava. She was extended a traditional Slovak welcome with bread and salt by a couple in folk dress. The President was accorded a ceremonial welcome with the Guard of Honour," the President's Office said in a post on X.

"President Droupadi Murmu @rashtrapatibhvn arrived at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava today. Warmly received by President @PellegriniP_ of Slovakia and accorded a ceremonial welcome with Guard of Honour. This is the first Presidential visit from India to Slovakia in nearly three decades," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.

Murmu was offered a bread by the Slovak couple which she dipped in salt and ate.

The ancient custom is performed for distinguished guests on various special occasions symbolically as a token of hospitality, friendship, respect.

During her two-days visit in Slovakia, President Murmu will hold delegation-level talks and meet Prime Minister Robert Fico, and Speaker of the National Council, Richard Rasi.

A number of Memorandum of Understanding will also be signed during the visit.

The last time an Indian President visited Slovakia was 29 years ago. Murmu becomes only the second Indian President to visit the Central European Country.

"There are deep connections, especially with Sanskrit studies in Slovakia. Mahatma Gandhi’s works have been translated into Slovak, and Slovakia offered valuable support during the evacuation of Indian students from Ukraine in 2022," Secretary West, External Affairs Ministry Tanmaya Lal had told in a media briefing on April 4.

During President Murmu's time in Slovakia, a key highlight will be her visit to the state-of-the-art Tata Motors Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) facility in Nitra, a testament to the strong industrial ties between the two nations.

Inaugurated in 2018 with an investment of 1.4 billion Euros, the JLR plant has a capacity to produce 150,000 vehicles annually.

The President arrived here after concluding her two-day State Visit to Portugal during which she held discussions with the country's top leadership and engaged with the Indian diaspora, "carrying forward the strong momentum of high level engagements" between the two nations.

Lal had said on April 4, "So with Slovakia also, there is a strong political momentum. At the same time, business engagement is going...there is an exchange of business delegations. There is significant investment by Indian companies in Slovakia in a range of sectors from automobiles and engineering to IT." There are long-standing defence ties as well between the two countries.