The Czech government yesterday approved a new foreign policy concept, departing from previous such documents by emphasising security as the main goal, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky (unaffiliated) told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
The concept was originally due to be completed in mid-2023, replacing the existing strategy from 2015. It is also a direct follow-up to the 2023 security strategy.
According to Lipavsky, the document formulates the basic objectives, priorities and instruments of Czech foreign policy for the coming years and is updated after ten years. With the transformation of how power interests are promoted in the world, the emphasis on security as the main goal is a fundamental shift, he said.
“The purpose of the concept is to establish as stable and unified foreign policy as possible, which the Czech Republic needs to successfully promote its interests,” the Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
The concept focuses on five main areas. In addition to the security of the state and citizens, the document sets the objectives of strengthening alliances and new partnerships, protecting and promoting values, and economic prosperity. Consular support and protection of Czechs abroad and building the Czech Republic’s reputation in the world are also permanent goals.
Lipavsky told journalists before the government meeting that the concept also touched on relations with China and Russia. The relationship, he said, is described in terms of the risks and threats that these countries pose.
“The Czech Republic is located in a region that has repeatedly been the target of Russia’s imperial policy. It is therefore in our vital interest that it does not succeed in its aggression against Ukraine and is effectively deterred from plans for any further aggression in Europe,” Lipavsky said in the press release.
According to Lipavsky, the concept emphasises that the Czech Republic will remain a reliable member of the EU and NATO and will thus participate in the formulation and adoption of collective decisions as well as in their implementation, including the necessary changes in both organisations. The text also discusses the growing influence of the Indo-Pacific, and considers Africa to be promising. It also discusses new technologies.
The document builds on the 2015 concept, which Lipavsky said earlier did not sufficiently respond to the erosion of respect for human rights or the long-term undermining of international law. It also did not sufficiently reflect climate change, resource policy, technology, or China’s growing assertiveness, sometimes even aggression.
