President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said he expects the Philippines and the Czech Republic to explore more areas of cooperation to strengthen the partnership between the two countries.
President Marcos made the statement after welcoming Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová during a courtesy visit to Malacañang on Thursday.
The President reflected on his fruitful visit to Prague in March of the previous year, where he engaged with Czech leaders and industrialists.
“It gives us the promise of a much stronger and a much deeper relationship between the Czech Republic and the Republic of the Philippines,” the President told the visiting Czech official.
“Your visit here is very important because we are continuing with the discussion that we had in Prague … did not end in Prague, that they continue to go on between our two countries,” he said.
The President hoped for a stronger future relationship between the Philippines and the Czech Republic across various sectors, including cultural exchanges, economic collaboration, defense and security cooperation, and diplomatic and governmental relations.
“There is much that we can do together, and there are many areas we still need to explore, which we never did between our two countries. I hope your visit will trigger and push and give impetus to that matter,” he said.
Černochová expressed gratitude for the invitation to meet the President and his delegation. She believes President Marcos recalls fondly his visit to Prague last year.
“I am very much impressed with your beautiful country, not only through this official visit, but I am also very impressed by your very nice, kind, and hardworking people who are deeply appreciated in the Czech Republic,” Černochová told President Marcos.
The Philippines and the Czech Republic established formal bilateral relations on October 5, 1973. Last year, the Czech Republic ranked as the Philippines’ 28th trading partner (out of 221).
As of June 30 last year, an estimated 8,783 Filipinos in the Czech Republic were engaged in the processing industry, automotive, appliance repair, manufacturing, IT communications, real estate, health and wellness, and household service work.
Potential areas of cooperation between the Philippines and the Czech Republic include cyber security and the possible participation of the Czech Republic in the International Observers Program of the 2025 iteration of Exercise Balikatan. | PND
