Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) yesterday hailed his upcoming meeting with the U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House as an opportunity to further develop Czech-U.S. relations. He expects that the meeting announced for 15 April will not be formal, but will focus on practical cooperation between the two countries, especially in the economic and security fields.
“I appreciate the invitation to the White House and I am happy to meet President Biden in Washington,” said Fiala in a statement provided to CTK by government spokeswoman Lucie Jesatkova. “The Czech Republic has excellent relations with the United States and our meeting is a great opportunity to further develop them. It is symbolic that the meeting is taking place during the 25th anniversary of our accession to NATO.”
He later told reporters that there were a number of topics that could be discussed at the White House.
“New impulses may come for economic and defence cooperation and other aspects of the relationship,” Fiala said after meeting former U.S. President Bill Clinton yesterday. “Relations with the United States are important for us. The best proof of their quality is this invitation.”
The White House said that Fiala and Biden would reaffirm their continued support for Ukraine and discuss a range of shared priorities, including security issues, economic opportunities and democratic values.
According to the Czech Foreign Ministry, the visit will be a confirmation of the excellent bilateral relations and a confirmation of the strong transatlantic ties. From the diplomatic point of view, it is an important event, Foreign Ministry spokesman Daniel Drake told CTK.
The announcement, made yesterday by Biden’s spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, came almost exactly five years after the last visit of a Czech Prime Minister to the White House in 2019, when Andrej Babis (ANO) was welcomed to Washington by President Donald Trump.
