Succesful visit of Czech president Miloš Zeman to Israel
Post date: Oct 12, 2013 6:30:21 AM
Succesful visit of Czech president Miloš Zeman to Israel
The new Czech president Miloš Zeman has visited Israel between 6th-9th October. His delegation consisted of Czech ministers of finance, foreign affairs and transport as well as representatives of various Czech companies. Zeman met Israeli Government representatives and visited historical places in and around Jerusalem. The President was accompanied by new Israeli ambassador to the Czech Republic, Mr. Gary Koren.
Miloš Zeman: ”I fully support Israel.”
Miloš Zeman met president Shimon Peres, but their meeting suddenly ended due to the passing away of Ovadia Yosef, leader of the orthodox Shas party. During the meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an agreement on cooperation between the two countries in the fight against crime. Zeman emphasized his support of Israel, he reminded his Israeli counterpart about the offer of Czech troops participation in the UN peacekeeping mission in the Golan Heights and the planned mission of Czech transport aircraft CASA in the Sinai. He also talked with with Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni , who leads a team of negotiators with the Palestinian Authority. In talks with her he stressed the need to combat terrorism. The president also met with Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar .
Holocaust Remembrance
During his visit to Israel, Czech president visited monument of Theodor Herzl in Jerusalem and the Yad Vashem memorial, where he paid tribute to the victims of the Shoah and as the sign of solid Czech-Israeli relations planted an olive tree. After visiting the Children’s Memorial he met countrymen and journalists.
Partnership for ecocomic cooperation
The president also attended a seminar presenting Czech firms, particularly in the areas of construction, engineering, aerospace and tourism to Israeli partners. One of the companies was AZD, specializing in railway communication technology. Therefore we can speculate on the participation of Czech companies in the construction of the newly approved railway Eilat - Beersheva. During the visit Foreign Minister Jan Kohout presented a medal for the development of Czech-Israeli relations to Yaakov Levy, who served as Israel's ambassador to the Czech Republic between 2008 and 2013.
Unofficial sources from the Israeli Embassy in the Czech Republic expressed their satisfaction with the visit and see it as an important step of a new president expressing a key role Czech Republic as a partner of the State of Israel.