Hanoi/Almaty, June 8 (CTK special correspondent) – President Milos Zeman expects short-time visas for Czech tourists travelling to Vietnam to be abolished soon, he told Czech journalists in Hanoi today, referring to his talks with supreme Vietnamese representatives he had during his visit to Vietnam.
Zeman left for Kazakhstan today where he will attend the opening of the Expo 2017 international exhibition and meet the Kazakh and Kyrgyz presidents.
He said Czech and Vietnamese businesspeople signed seven agreements during his visit to Vietnam, where he left on June 5.
The two countries also signed a treaty on the mutual extradition of convicts the preparation of which lasted several years, he said.
“I am grateful to the chairwoman of the National Assembly (Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan), to whom I pointed out the treaty during her visit to Prague. Her intervention was very useful,” Zeman said.
Zeman said progress was made in negotiations about the possibility of establishing a Ho Chi Minh-Prague direct flight and about signing an agreement abolishing short-time visas for Czech tourists.
Zeman left Vietnam for Kazakhstan today. During his talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Saturday, he wants to discuss the debt of 150 million dollars Kazakhstan partially took over from the former Soviet Union.
Zeman said he discussed the repayment of the debt when he was prime minister (1998-2002) already, but to no avail. His successors failed as well.
“The issue is rather frozen, I will try to defrost it,” Zeman said.
Also on Saturday, Zeman is to meet his Kyrgyz counterpart Almazbek Atambayev.
His planned talks with new Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was cancelled. However, Czech diplomats said Zeman and Mirziyoyev may meet at the Expo.
The Czech business delegation today flew to Ho Chi Minh City where a Czech-Vietnamese business forum is to be held. The delegation will rejoin Zeman at the Expo opening on Friday.
Eva Velickova, spokeswoman for the Czech Confederation of Industry which organises the business delegation, said a Czech business mission headed by Industry and Trade Minister Jiri Havlicek is to visit Astana in July to hold a conference on energy industry at the Expo.
“We want to show millions of visitors the high level of energy technologies that we can produce in the Czech Republic and that we try to export all over the world. There are also opportunities for firms focusing on transport vehicles, waste management and smart city,” the Confederation’s head Jaroslav Hanak said.
ms,kva/mr/hol,rtj
