Prague, March 26 (CTK) – Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis met U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, who is on a private visit in the Czech Republic, at the Government Office and they talked about economic, trade and scientific cooperation on Monday.
Babis and Ryan dealt with possible problems caused by the tariffs that the USA unilaterally imposed on steel and aluminium imports.
In connection with the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the independent Czechoslovak state, Babis said the forthcoming celebrations are a good impulse to deepen the Czech-American cooperation.
The Government Office said the Czech Republic will keep seeking U.S. investments in fields with a high added value and in further cooperation in science, innovations and energy industry. Prague is also interested in more opportunities for Czech students to participate in exchange stays at U.S. universities, the office said.
Babis and Ryan also talked about defence cooperation and NATO missions in which Czech soldiers participate.
Ryan with his family is supposed to stay in the Czech Republic for a few days.
On Tuesday, he will address an extraordinary session of the lower house of the Czech parliament. He and the house’s chairman, Radek Vondracek, should also sign a joint declaration, referring to the establishment of the independent Czechoslovakia 100 years ago and the U.S. contribution to it.
Also on Tuesday, Ryan will take part in a conference on the U.S. role in the European security architecture, held in the upper house of parliament.
He will meet some top Czech politicians during these events.
The last U.S. supreme representative to visit the Czech Republic officially was president Barack Obama in 2010. He attended the U.S.-Russian summit in Prague where he and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). They also held bilateral talks with the then Czech head of state, Vaclav Klaus.
