Bratislava, April 10: Asserting that India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday urged business leaders from Slovakia to seize the opportunities and convert them into concrete results

Slovakia, President Murmu said while addressing the Slovakia-India Business Forum in Bratislava, with its strong industrial base and strategic location in Europe, presents great opportunities for deeper trade and investment ties.

“Slovakia is looking for hard-working skilled workers and professionals from overseas to help meet its workforce requirements. I am convinced that Indian talent can be a valuable partner in the economic progress of Slovakia,” President Murmu said in her address at the event.

“India is committed to enhancing trade relations with Slovakia. The large business delegation, representing diverse fields, which has accompanied me, clearly shows the interest of Indian businesses to explore opportunities in Slovakia. We have seen a similar interest from Slovakia,” she added.

Addressing the forum, President Murmu thanked Slovakia President Peter Pellegrini for his commitment in strengthening economic ties between the two countries. She said that India is undergoing remarkable transformation and has emerged as a global leader in technology, innovation and sustainable development.

President Murmu added that the Slovakia-India Business Forum serves as an excellent platform to explore synergies and build mutually beneficial partnerships.

Earlier, President Murmu visited an exhibition of paintings by Slovak children. The Slovak-Indian Friendship Society, in collaboration with the Indian Embassy, has been organising the painting competition ‘Beauty Hidden in Fairy Tales – India through the Eyes of Slovak Children’ since 2015.

She also witnessed a puppet show on Ramayan conducted by Lenka Mukova. Lenka is part of the Babadlo Puppet Theatre in Presov, which has been educating children through puppetry for 30 years.

President Murmu also attended a banquet hosted in her honour by Slovakia President Pellegrini at the historic Bratislava Castle. The Slovak artists presented captivating musical performances including that of the National Anthem, signifying the strong cultural bond between the two countries.

Thanking the Slovak government and the people of Slovakia for the warm welcome and hospitality, she said that from yoga and ayurveda to Indian cuisine, the love for Indian culture in Slovakia is a testament to the strong people-to-people connections. She also reaffirmed India’s commitment to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two countries.

On Wednesday, President Murmu held productive talks with the Slovakia President in Bratislava as both leaders reviewed various facets of India-Slovakia relations and agreed to work towards strengthening the bilateral partnership across diverse sectors.

During their one-to-one meeting and delegation-level talks, President Murmu and Pellegrini also discussed issues of shared global and regional interests. The participants in delegation-level talks from the Indian side included the accompanying Minister of State, Nimuben Bambhaniya, as well as Members of Parliament Dhaval Patel, Sandhya Ray and senior officials.

President Murmu also met the Speaker of National Council of the Slovak Republic, Richard Rasi in Bratislava, congratulating him on his recent election as Speaker while reaffirming the high priority attached by India to the historic friendship between the two countries.

“President Murmu said that Parliamentarians have an important role in enhancing goodwill and mutual understanding between India and Slovakia. She noted that there has been a tradition of a Slovak-India Friendship Group in the National Council of Slovakia, and said that it would help promote exchange of knowledge and experience among our Parliamentarians,” the President’s Secretariat stated.

This is the first visit by an Indian President to Slovakia in nearly three decades.

“The two-day visit to Slovakia spotlights the importance India places on its bilateral relations with the Slovak Republic. It is also expected to pave the way for deeper cooperation and new initiatives in various sectors, including defence, science and technology, and education,” stated the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Islamabad, Feb 27: The Pakistan cricket team’s depressing, dismal, and cheerless performance in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, resulting in its early exit from the tournament, has not only broken the hearts of home fans but also knocked on the doors of the country’s Prime Minister.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has personally taken notice of the team’s early departure and the below-par performance and is likely to take up the issues related to the cricket team in the cabinet and the parliament. Pakistan’s final Group A fixture against Bangladesh was washed out in Rawalpindi due to rain on Thursday, which meant that they ended their campaign without a win. With only one point, thanks to a washout, Pakistan will finish at the bottom of the group.

Prime Minister’s aide on Political and Public Affairs, Rana Sanaullah, has said that PM Shehbaz will also take up the matter at the parliament. “The Prime Minister will personally take notice, and we will also ask him to raise these cricket-related issues in the cabinet as well as in the parliament,” said Rana Sanaullah.

It is pertinent to note that Pakistan is hosting the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Special arrangements have been made to glorify the event, with Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi cricket stadiums renovated to increase audience capacity and further enhance the facilities. However, the team’s fans were left dejected after Pakistan lost both its matches and was knocked out of the tournament when their final league match with Bangladesh was rained off.

While anger persists among cricket fans, questions are being raised over the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), its chief Mohsin Naqvi, and the selection committee, which selected the squad. Aqib Javed, head coach of Pakistan, has tried to justify the team selection, stating that all players were selected on the basis of their recent performances.

On the other hand, internal issues within the PCB are also being linked with the team’s bad performance as many believe that the cricket board’s decision-making regarding playing eleven, the team, and the players has prompted foreign coaches like Jason Gillespie to part ways.

Rana Sanaullah said that he will also call on PM Sharif to address the ongoing issues within the PCB, emphasising that the cricket sport as a whole is in bad shape. “The sport at college and district levels is in a bad position, and the amount that has been spent on a professional level should be revealed before the public”, said Rana Sanaullah.

Rana Sanaullah also raised concerns over amounts being paid to mentors, who he highlighted admitted that they were unaware of their responsibilities and were being remunerated for doing nothing. “You will be surprised after hearing about the perks and privileges of other officer-bearers. You will be confused whether they are officials of a Pakistani institution or those belonging to a developed nation”, he said.

It would not be wrong to say that Pakistan’s performance on home grounds has certainly left fans heartbroken. In major ICC events, Pakistan’s performance in the past years has also not been mentionable.

In 2023, Pakistan only won four out of nine matches during the ODI World Cup in India and ended in fifth position on the points table. Pakistan also made an early exit from last year’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA after losing to India and the USA in the preliminary stage.

Problems seem to be mounting for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as they face a race against time to handover a proper stadium to the International Cricket Council (ICC) before the Champions Trophy gets underway. According to The Times Of India report, the construction and upgradation work is still underway at the National Stadium in Karachi, Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore and the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium

A source following the developments said,”It is a very disappointing picture. All three stadiums are far from ready and it’s not renovation or refurbishment, but proper construction which is underway. There is so much work left with seats, floodlights, facilities and even the outfield and playing surfaces,”

The report further states there is not much time left for the venues to be handed over and it’s not a surprise that there are discussions about moving the entire tournament to the UAE. 

The PCB has to hand over the tournament venues to ICC by February 12, however, the stadium work which was scheduled to be finished by December 31, is yet to be completed.

A team of from the ICC will leave for Pakistan towards the end of the week to do a status check and informal contingency discussions are underway in Dubai corridors.

What is the Current stadium of Champions Trophy venues?

Lahore and Karachi are the two centres where heavy construction work is underway and their multi-storied enclosures, which will have dressing rooms and hospitality boxes, are yet to enter the finishing stages. In addition to the new enclosures, there is fencing work, placement of floodlights and seats which is far from the finish line.

The source added, “The weather is not ideal for construction and finishing work to happen at a rapid pace. At Gadaffi, even the plaster work isn’t completed yet. And most of the time is taken by finishing work because we are talking about dressing rooms etc. They just can’t be random rooms/enclosures for an ICC event. ICC has a checklist which needs to be met. National Stadium has decided to not completely finish the new enclosure because there is no time,”