On Wednesday, September 30, President Petr Pavel received Romanian President Nicușor Dan at Prague Castle, who arrived in the Czech Republic for an official visit. Together with the first lady, Eva Pavlova, he also welcomed the Romanian First Lady, Mirabela Gradinarová.
The main topics of the meeting were European security, support for Ukraine, and possibilities for further economic cooperation.
The heads of state discussed security on NATO’s eastern flank and in the Black Sea region. They also discussed the repeated violations of Romanian airspace by Russian drones.
President Pavel praised Romania’s role in the Alliance’s collective defense and stressed that the security of the Black Sea region is important for all of Europe.
The talks also focused on trade and investment. Romania is the largest trading partner of the Czech Republic in Southeastern Europe. The two presidents see opportunities for further cooperation, in particular in the modernization of railway and urban transport, energy, digitalization and the defense industry. Czech companies can contribute with their technologies, among other things, to the modernization of the Romanian transport infrastructure and armed forces.
The Romanian president had a meeting with the Senate President Miloš Vystrčil and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Tomio Okamura.
At the end of a full day, the Romanian president met members of the Romanian Diaspora.
Romanian President Nicușor Dan wrote on his social media – Today I am on an official visit to the Czech Republic, at the Prague Castle, at the invitation of President Petr Pavel.
The consistent discussions held in Prague reconfirmed the excellent state of bilateral cooperation between Romania and the Czech Republic, based on long-standing historical links and the close friendship between our peoples.
We discussed ways of deepening our cooperation at all levels, both bilaterally and within the EU and NATO, with a special focus on security, the threats posed by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the development of our defense industries.
We stressed the importance of strengthening NATO’s East Flank, as well as increased solidarity and cohesion in Europe, to protect our common future and strengthen the capacity of the European Union to respond to current global challenges.
We also highlighted the valuable contribution of the important Romanian community in the Czech Republic and the Czech minority in Romania. Two days ago, Romania marked the Czech Language Day, in recognition of the contribution of the Czech minority, whose language, culture and traditions enrich our national cultural heritage and constitute a lasting foundation of Romanian-Czech friendship.
At the same time, I expressed my appreciation for the recognition by the Czech authorities of the sacrifice and the significant role of the Romanian Army in the liberation of Czechoslovakia at the end of the Second World War; for this cause, tens of thousands of Romanian soldiers sacrificed their lives.
Watch the Video from the reception.
