The Czech Republic and Portugal are stressing the importance of further deepening transatlantic ties, for the security and prosperity not only of Europe but also of the United States, President Petr Pavel said yesterday after a meeting with his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in Prague.
According to Pavel, Portuguese and Czech industries have a lot in common, and the countries can share their capabilities in cooperation in Europe as well as in Africa.
According to Pavel, the countries are very similar in terms of their size, population, and above all their values and their approach to solving problems regarding the current situation in the world.
“Both countries stress the importance of maintaining and further deepening transatlantic ties for the security and prosperity of both Europe and the United States,” the Czech President noted. “Both countries agree that we need to further strengthen and, most importantly, streamline the functioning of the European Union, but also expand the space for bilateral cooperation.”
According to Pavel, bilateral trade reached 1.6 billion euros last year, but there is room for improvement. As far as cooperation is concerned, for example in Africa, the Czech Republic has traditionally had good ties, but Portugal has strong relations with a number of sub-Saharan countries, where it would be possible to cooperate in transport and other infrastructure projects, he added.
Rebelo de Sousa invited Pavel to visit Portugal later this year. He said it was important to strengthen political cooperation, bilaterally, within Europe and NATO, and also with other continents such as Africa and Latin America.
The Portuguese head of state also said that economic cooperation was developing promisingly, but more could be done. Scientific cooperation could be intensified, although the number of Portuguese scientists and researchers working and living in the Czech Republic is increasing year by year, as is the number of Czech students and scientists in Portugal, he added.
Howelver, Pavel also noted that the number of Portuguese students at Czech universities has declined over the past ten years.
According to Rebelo de Sousa, the countries share the same values, principles and positions: a strong and secure Europe that is more socially just, catching up with the lag in scientific and technological progress, and a Europe focused on young people.
“If we don’t want Europe and its individual member states to start to lose relevance, we need to start very quickly to address the problems that Europe has not only in ensuring its own security, but for example in research, new technologies, removing barriers to economic growth, trade,” said Pavel.
Later in the day yesterday, Rebelo de Sousa also met Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS), discussing cooperation in defence and industry, the ammunition initiative for Ukraine, and the competitiveness of the European Union.
“We have excellent economic relations with Portugal, which we want to develop and strengthen even further in the future,” Fiala said after the talks.
Rebelo de Sousa also saw and tried the Renault 21 TSE vehicle in the Prague National Technical Museum, a car gifted to former Czech President Vaclav Havel by his predecessor Mario Soares in 1989.
On Thursday, the Portuguese president will visit Charles University in Prague, where he will meet Rector Milena Kralickova, vice-rectors and Portuguese-speaking students. He will deliver a lecture for students, and will visit Strahov Monastery in Prague together with Pavel.
