Czech Prime Minister Opens Diplomatic Office in Yerushalayim

Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babiš inaugurated his country’s new diplomatic office in Yerushalayim on Thursday in a ceremony attended by Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.

“We, the Czech Republic, are opening here in Jerusalem on Washington Street our diplomatic representation,” Babiš said at the ceremony.

He clarified that the Czech Republic Embassy would still remain in Tel Aviv. “We will have a full-fledged diplomatic mission here in Jerusalem. It will deal with many things, ranging from politics, economic cooperation to consular agenda and other topics. It will have its permanent staff and work under the lead of our embassy in Tel Aviv.

“It represents another milestone in our cooperation and gives evidence that we see the importance of this great city,” he said.

Foreign Minister Ashkenazi thanked Babiš for his friendship and for adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism.

Babiš and Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban are in Israel to meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to discuss Israel’s success in providing coronavirus vaccines to its populations and how the lessons from Israel’s success can be applied in their home countries.

The Czech Republic is the second European nation to open a diplomatic office in Yerushalayim, following Hungary.