Press Advisories

26. 9. 201911:49

The Czech Republic is progressing and growing richer, Prime Minister Babiš stated to delegates and UN General Assembly

On Wednesday 25 September Prime Minister Andrej Babiš spoke at the UN’s 74th General Assembly in New York. As part of the third working day of his visit to the USA, he also read a speech at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development held under the auspices of the UN General Assembly. He met with the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

In his speech before the UN General Assembly, the Prime Minister described the Czech Republic’s journey from a totalitarian state to the current democratic, economically-successful country. He admitted that the previous political garniture made several mistakes on this journey that are now being corrected. “It was important that I spoke mainly about the Czech Republic, because we have a lot to be proud of. Of course I mentioned that we are commemorating thirty years of freedom and democracy, that we have something to build upon, the First Republic, that Czechs are an innovative and creative nation. That we have DNA here. And we definitely have something to be proud of. We are the seventh safest country, we are seventh in terms of sustainable development and we are the fourth most stable economy in Europe,” the Prime Minister stated. Our goal is to become a European leader in innovations and artificial intelligence that will be an example for the rest of the world,” Andrej Babiš said with regard to the national strategy entitled Czech Republic: The Country for the Future.

He also talked about developments in the European Union. “I am convinced, and all kinds of meetings that I have had here with various statesmen confirms it, that the Czech Republic and the V4 can truly play an important role within Europe,” the Prime Minister declared, adding that both the Czech Republic and the Central European Region have the ability to fight for a strong Europe.

In his speech, Prime Minister Babiš also touched on relations with the USA and with Russia and he mentioned the issue of climate change. “I stated that the speech by Greta Thunberg was not a great success. That it was more likely to evoke various passions. I also did not like how she generalises. We, as the Czech Republic, have truly done an awful lot and we are fulfilling our obligations from the Paris Agreement. But we really do not want to promise something unrealistic, as others here have done. And it is also the responsibility of countries outside of Europe, because if we only produce ten per cent of the emissions in Europe and the others do not lower theirs, then it is necessary for the entire planet to get involved in a solution for climate change,” Prime Minister Babiš said.

The Prime Minister also pointed out to the delegates that our planet’s problem is not only to resolve the climate, but there are other areas of sustainable development that should also be talked about, for example the supply of drinking water and the fight against hunger, illiteracy and poverty. You can find the entire wording of the Prime Minister’s speech to the UN General Assembly.

The Prime Minister also spoke at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development held under the auspices of the UN General Assembly, i.e. the SDG Summit. “This year’s SDG Summit is supposed to evaluate how countries are fulfilling their commitments accepted for the year 2030. I boasted that out of 162 countries in the index, we are in seventh place and I reminded them about our voluntary commitments. For example, that we will plant ten million trees by the year 2025,” Andrej Babiš summed up.

You can find the entire wording of the Prime Minister’s speech at the SDG Summit.

As part of the third working day of his visit to the USA, the Czech Prime Minister also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Just like during their meeting during the Prime Minister’s recent official visit to Turkey, both politicians primarily discussed the problem with migration. The Prime Minister supported the Turkish President’s plan to build safe zones in Northern Syria. “We have to discuss that and we have to do all we can to get all the parties that have an influence in that region to the table. It is positive that a conference is starting in Geneva at which the opposition and government representatives from Syria are included. That is the only solution for me, for those people to return home. We definitely want to play an active role here,” stated Andrej Babiš.

The Prime Minister also met in bilateral talks with UN Secretary General António Guterres, participated in the Bloomberg Business Forum in a panel that is involved in the issue of the effects of population aging, and he also met with representatives of American investors united in the association ACEBA. “They praised the stable condition for business they have in the Czech Republic and so I asked them to also lobby on behalf of Europe in the White House. We also want a wonderful trade agreement, like the one promised to Great Britain,” the Prime Minister stated. He also shortly met with the Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, with whom he primarily discussed the Thai project to purchase twenty Czech L-39NG aircraft.