India’s induction in NATO to be based on consensus of members: Ambassador Javorčík

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Washington DC: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will be open to discuss the initiative of the United States to include India as the sixth country to NATO plus, stated Ambassador of Slovak Republic to the United States, Radovan Javorčík.

This comes on the heels of Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) announcing in July that the US was working to bring India in NATO plus, which currently consists of five US-allies Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Israel, and South Korea.

“We are eager to see and learn from India, what their concerns are in security and defense in the region – which is highly valuable from the point of view of free navigation, and free routes of commerce,” Ambassador Javorčík told News India Times in an exclusive interview ahead of participating in the Ambassador Insider Series event hosted by The Washington Diplomat at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic on November 10, 2022.

When asked if Slovakia, as a NATO member, would favor India’s inclusion in NATO plus, Javorčík indicated that it will be a consensus-based decision of all NATO countries – NATO values partners who are willing to exchange views. But as a former Permanent Representative of Slovakia to NATO, Javorčík said the NATO plus format is very important and he would like to see India around the table to discuss concerns with fellow NATO allies.

As far as Slovakia’s support to G4 nations – India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan – towards the expansion of UN Security Council’s permanent membership, he said “We are in a specific situation where one of the permanent members is violating international law, including through aggression against her neighbor… the time and urgency to have a reform is absolutely there and we will be on the side of expanding membership of those countries which are really detrimental for each region… And India is really an important regional player to that effect.”

His hope is that India will take on issues such as Russian aggression against Ukraine, Climate Change, and food and energy crises created by Russia’s aggression in the Global South, during its UN Security Council Presidency in December.

In 2008, Slovakia supported the “waiver” of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to enable international cooperation with India in civilian nuclear energy. When asked if Slovakia would support India’s membership in NSG, Javorčík stated “Slovakia is seen as one of the superpowers of use of civilian nuclear power… so we would love to see every country which is willing to expand their civilian nuclear program to be under the auspices of International Atomic Energy Agency within all the international rules,” adding “The civilian use of nuclear energy is one of the biggest positive issues even for climate change. So, definitely Slovakia is willing to support any country which is willing to play according to the rules of NSG.”

While emphasizing India is a vital trade partner, Javorčík pointed out that discussions about European Union, Slovakia, and India’s trade is about the ongoing building of trust, with tremendous scope for joint growth of these economies. “Obviously, India is a big competitor, a positive competitor I would say in many instances including in the energy market. With Europe facing disruption of gas deliveries due to Russia-Ukraine war, and India is a huge consumer of gas, there is a need to discuss and see how to stabilize the world gas market.” He also noted that there are open questions with all partners including India about climate change targets and carbon emissions.

About India-Slovakia bilateral relations, he said “India is an incredibly important economic partner with lots of research and development in IT sector. And I can tell you that cooperation with Indian companies is showing physically in Slovakia when many IT experts and specialists are coming to Slovakia to work for multinational companies and for Indian companies. At times, you can see more Indians on streets than Slovaks in certain parts of Bratislava.”

While acknowledging the deep and historic relationship between India and Slovakia, Javorčík concluded Slovakia is a big supporter of Indian democracy, and expansion of its democratic rule.