Petr Fiala discusses deeper Czech-U.S. cooperation in the U.S. Congress

On Tuesday 16 April 2024, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala held talks in the U.S. Congress, mainly on Czech-U.S. relations, and also on the U.S. aid package for Ukraine and other countries, which is pending in the House of Representatives. In addition, the Czech Prime Minister paid tribute to presidents Václav Havel and T. G. Masaryk in Washington and gave a speech at the Hudson Institute. He concluded his visit to the USA at a gala dinner with prominent personalities and Czech and U.S. investors.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala started the second day of his visit to the USA with a visit to the Hudson Institute, which focuses mainly on national security and foreign policy issues. The Czech Prime Minister gave a speech in which he spoke mainly about transatlantic relations, the Czech-U.S. alliance, but also about the war in Ukraine and the Czech munitions initiative. “The purpose is to find munitions on world markets, to negotiate their funding and possibly coordinate their deliveries to Ukraine. We have the know-how, contacts and experience. And we can organise this help effectively. I am glad that at this moment, already about 20 countries have joined our initiative - from Canada, Germany and the Netherlands to Poland,” said the Prime Minister, who also described the Czech Republic’s historical experience with communism and the Soviet Union.

Afterwards, Prime Minister Fiala moved to the U.S. Capitol, the seat of the U.S. Congress, where he held talks with Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul, Democratic Minority Leader of the House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ben Cardin, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and other congresspersons. During his visit to the Capitol, Petr Fiala stopped by the bust of the first Czech President Václav Havel, where he paid tribute together with the co-chairs of the Friends of the Czech Republic informal group, Lloyd Doggett and Mario Díaz-Balart. He then presented them with silver commemorative coins.

“Everyone I spoke to in Congress praised the Czech Republic, its approach, its role, its munitions initiative and the fact that a relatively small country from the U.S. perspective can actually play such an important role. It was gratifying for me,” said the Prime Minister after the talks in Congress, where he also spoke with congresspersons about the financial aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, the approval of which is to be discussed by the House of Representatives in the coming days. “In addition, we also discussed Czech-U.S. relations and some specific issues, such as the importance of LNG gas supplies. We are very concerned that the United States should not restrict its gas supplies to Europe in the long term. It is important for the Czech Republic to remain energy independent from Russia and to have enough cheap gas available in Europe. However, we also talked about the Czech Republic’s cooperation with the United States in the field of nuclear energy,” said Petr Fiala.

After the talks, the Czech Prime Minister laid flowers at the statue of the first Czechoslovak President T. G. Masaryk in the diplomatic quarter, where he greeted Sokol representatives and other Czechs living overseas.

Petr Fiala concluded his visit to the United States at a gala dinner with prominent personalities and Czech and U.S. investors. “The Czech Republic is a country that has a lot to offer to the United States and I was pleased that many members of Congress know that Czech companies invest in the USA and employ thousands of Americans,” the Prime Minister concluded.