Press Advisories

25. 11. 201423:53

Members of the Governments of the Czech Republic and the State of Israel met in Jerusalem

Members of the Czech and Israeli Governments met in Jerusalem where joint inter-governmental meetings took place with the participation of the prime ministers and ministers of both states. These were the third inter-governmental consultations since 2011.

The main topics of the inter-governmental consultations concerned the development of contacts in science, research and innovation, security issues and the situation in the Middle East, and the deepening of economic and cultural cooperation. After the meetings, representatives of both countries signed memoranda relating to these essential areas.

Alongside the Czech Prime Minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, the inter-governmental consultations were also attended by the Deputy Prime Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, Pavel Bělobrádek, Minister of Defence, Martin Stropnický, Minister of Industry and Trade, Jan Mládek, Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, Michaela Marksová, Minister of Agriculture, Marian Jurečka, Minister of Health Svatopluk Němeček and Minister of Culture, Daniel Herman.

During meetings with the Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister Sobotka emphasised the Czech Government’s interest in continuing to develop its traditional wide-ranging partnership with the State of Israel. They also discussed peace developments in the Middle East region. The Prime Minister emphasised the Czech Republic’s interest in the renewal of direct peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, to enable the future creation of an independent Palestinian state, which would respect the existence of Israel and, together with Israel, would guarantee peaceful relations between the two sides.

“As far as Czech-Israeli relations are concerned, we are building on a long tradition of friendly contacts and a strategic partnership, which, as far as the Czech Republic is concerned, we would like to continue to develop in the future. We discussed a wide range of issues. Apart from the peace process in the Middle East, we also discussed the area of economic cooperation. Here I must point out that Israel is the Czech Republic’s most important trading partner in the Middle East and, if we omit the European Union Member States, it is the Czech Republic’s sixth largest export partner. There is no reason why this positive progress should not continue over the coming years. We want to focus in particular on new technologies and cooperation in the area of science,” said Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka at the press conference.

The path taken by the members of the Cabinet to Israel was also followed by a business delegation composed of the Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic and the Czech-Israeli Chamber of Commerce, which mainly focused on the scientific and research aspects of the business mission. During the afternoon, business people meet with Prime Minister Sobotka and selected ministers for round table discussions, which will discuss the outcomes of the meetings between both parties.

It was also agreed today that the next inter-governmental consultations will take place either in 2015 or 2016 in the Czech Republic.

Summary of Memoranda and Agreements signed today:

Joint Statement by the Prime Ministers
Summarises the results of the negotiations and the current state of Czech-Israeli cooperation.

Joint Declaration of Cooperation in Research and Development
Setting out a target to develop joint research programmes (e.g. under the EU Horizon 2020 programme), to share experience of the application of research results in production and to expand opportunities for academic exchange. In this context, a Forum will be held annually to assess the progress made in cooperation in science and research.

Joint Declaration on Defence and Military Cooperation
Expresses the commitment to continue to develop existing cooperation, and, in particular, to carry out regular consultation and to identify opportunities for expanding cooperation, e.g. in the defence industry, military exercises and research and development.

Joint Declaration between the MLSA CR and the Ministry for Senior Citizens of the State of Israel
The Czech Republic and the State of Israel will share experiences, e,g, concerning the employment of elderly people, active aging, the integration of seniors, intergenerational solidarity, towns that are attractive for seniors and leisure activities for seniors. The Ministries will organise exchanges between their experts.

Joint Declaration of Cooperation in Healthcare and Medicine for the period 2014–2019
Both sides will implement joint projects in the field of healthcare and medicine, will share experiences in the field of health information technologies and the use of therapeutic cannabis and will share information on medical products.

Joint Declaration between the Ministry of Culture of the CR, the Ministry of Education of the State of Israel and the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Institute, Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem will develop cooperation with the Terezin Memorial and the Lidice Memorial in the research, education and preservation of historical memory in the context of the Holocaust and World War II.

Declaration on a common interest in cooperating in film co-production
Both parties declared their interest in negotiating an agreement on film co-production between the CR and the State of Israel.

Joint Declaration between the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the CR and the Ministry of Social Services of the State of Israel
The ministries will share experiences in the area of social services, child protection and the training of social workers. The ministries will organise exchanges between their experts.

Memorandum of understanding on the establishment of bilateral consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the CR and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel
The ministries will carry out mutual consultations at a diplomatic level each year on issues of bilateral cooperation and regional and international topics of common interest.

Joint Declaration in Cyber Security
Both parties shared information and experiences in order to strengthen protection against potential cyber threats. They will continue to exchange information on research and development in the field of cyber security.