photo: vlada.cz - Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Prime Minister of the Free State of Bavaria Marcus Söder at a joint press conference after the meeting, 8 July 2024.
On Monday, 8 July 2024, the first Czech-Bavarian cross-border congress took place in Cham, Bavaria. The Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and the Prime Minister of the Free State of Bavaria Markus Söder discussed the modernisation of the railway connection between the two countries, cooperation in strategic economic sectors and other cooperation projects. During the congress, three agreements and memoranda were signed on the expansion of cross-border cooperation between firefighters, tourist centres and the extension of the Ambulance app to Bavaria.
Czech-Bavarian relations are filled with many areas of cooperation. The Czech Republic perceives the Czech-Bavarian border region as a united region and we want to further develop and improve the neighbourly coexistence. "We greatly appreciate Bavaria's continued interest in cooperation with the Czech Republic, for example in the form of the Czech-German Regional Forum. We have also resumed regular inter-parliamentary dialogue between our countries. I am also grateful for the new initiatives that have led to the establishment of the new Bavarian Council for Cross-Border Cooperation with the Czech Republic," the Prime Minister said.
In his speech at the Congress, the Prime Minister stressed that there is great potential for cooperation in strategic economic sectors. "For example, in the field of artificial intelligence, semiconductors, nanotechnology or alternative energy sources. These are areas where both the Czech Republic and Bavaria benefit from their extensive innovation ecosystems. They are key, for example, for the automotive industry, which is extremely strong on both sides of the border," said the Czech Prime Minister.
An important topic of the meeting was the development of the rail link. "Our priority is the modernisation of the line from Pilsen to Schwandorf towards Nuremberg and Munich. On the Czech side, we will start work on the comprehensive modernisation of the Plzeň - Domažlice section next year. The line will be electrified and the maximum speed increased to 200 km/h by 2030," said Prime Minister Fiala.
Three agreements and memoranda were signed at the congress concerning the intensification of cooperation in the field of tourism between the CzechTourism agency and the Bavarian Tourist Office, cross-border cooperation of firefighters and emergency preparedness, and a memorandum between the Záchranka App and the Bavarian Red Cross on the launch of the Notruf Bayern project.
The First Czech-Bavarian Cross-Border Congress was the largest ever meeting in this format with the participation of both Prime Ministers, representatives of the Czech border regions, Bavarian state government presidents, presidents of state assemblies, district councillors, deputies, senators, mayors and many other actors of cross-border cooperation. During the congress, members of the Bavarian Council for Cross-Border Cooperation met for the first time with representatives of the Karlovy Vary, Pilsen and South Bohemia regions. The Bavarian Council for Cross-Border Cooperation was established last year by Bavaria to improve cross-border cooperation and to coordinate all Bavarian regional and municipal partners for negotiations with Czech governors in the Czech-Bavarian border regions.
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