Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala met today in Prague at the Strakova Academy with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. They discussed not only cooperation in the military sphere but also in the economic area. According to the Prime Minister, Ukraine offers a great opportunity for Czech industry.

"From the beginning, we have had a great understanding of what Ukraine is doing. I assured the President that the Czech Republic will continue to stand firmly by Ukraine," Fiala said at a joint press conference. According to him, Ukraine is not only defending itself but also the security of all of Europe.

"We talked about our bilateral cooperation, which is developing not only in the military sphere but also in the economic sphere. Cooperation with Ukraine is certainly a great opportunity for Czech industry and the Czech economy," the Prime Minister said, adding that this is reflected in the figures. "The export of Czech companies to Ukraine is growing rapidly. It has increased by a quarter year-on-year to nearly 45 billion crowns, compared to around 25 billion in 2022," Fiala stated.

According to the Prime Minister, Ukraine needs supplies of cogeneration units or the completion of the Oriv wind farm, and other projects are being prepared, for example, Skoda Transportation and other companies are planning deliveries in the transportation sector. "We could also strengthen cooperation in the field of nuclear energy," Fiala added. He said that Czech companies are ready to play an active role in the reconstruction of key infrastructure.

Regarding military cooperation, the Czech Republic is prepared to increase its contribution to the training of Ukrainian soldiers, specifically, Ukrainian pilots could be trained in Náměšť nad Oslavou. According to him, the Czech ammunition initiative is also continuing successfully.

According to Zelenskyy, cooperation in the military sphere is developing successfully at the present time. "This year, we hope for better results than we had last year," Zelenskyy said.

"We are interested in developing our bilateral relations and having a greater impact on life in both the Czech Republic and Ukraine, and I would like to emphasize the important initiatives of the Prime Minister and his colleagues," the Ukrainian President added.

"I would also like to mention the Ukrainian community that has formed in the Czech Republic and is successfully working to strengthen contacts and ties between Ukraine and the Czech Republic," Zelenskyy concluded.

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