Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic CZECH DIPLOMACY 2019 Page | 1 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Dear readers, Opening Allow me to present to you the second edition of the Czech Diplomacy publication. Unlike the last year, when I looked Message back at the achievements of my predecessors as well as on my own contribution, this publication takes stock of the work undertaken only by myself and my team throughout 2019. There are many ways to characterize the year 2019. One of the key topics in international policy is multilateralism, a principle that has been gaining ground since 1945. Effective application of multilateralism is the crucial way to maintain a rules-based world order. In 2019, multilateralism underwent an endurance test. We saw global actors such as Brussels, Washington, Moscow or Beijing vehemently asserting their different views on the key questions of foreign policy, security and related issues. The level of disagreement on the future world order was obvious especially from the interaction between the United States and China. In the European context, I was above all pleased by European Parliament elections. The voter turnout exceeded my expectations, and the result did not confirm the pessimistic predictions that the share of populist vote would be larger than ever before. The year 2019 brought some great anniversaries, the most important one being the 70th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation combined with the 20th anniversary of our own NATO membership. Czech diplomacy never fails to stress the value of the alliance as there are too many political forces happy to challenge this fundamental pillar. The 15th anniversary of our EU membership was another important moment. Finally, 30 years have passed since the Velvet Revolution. Its legacy and ideals became the main building blocks of Czechoslovak and later Czech foreign policy in the 1990s. The following chapters will give you a more detailed overview of the most important events and achievements of Czech foreign policy in 2019. The list is not and cannot be complete. It should serve as a source of basic facts to help you understand the main direction of the work undertaken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last year on the basis of the long- term foreign policy concept and the present Government's programme statement. These activities contributed both to the visibility of the Czech Republic and to the achievement of our priority goals, including in bilateral relations. Readers may judge for themselves how we have coped with this daunting task. Tomáš Petříček Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Page | 2 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Contents Opening Message………………………………………………………… 2 Direction of Czech Diplomacy in 2019…………………………… 4 Effective Multilateralism……………………………………………… 6 Czech Diplomacy within the EU……………………………………. 7 Human Rights……………..……………………………………………. 9 Development Cooperation………………………………………….. 9 Economic Diplomacy…..…………………………………………….. 11 Security of the Czech Republic…………………………………….. 12 Good Name of the Czech Republic in the World……………. 14 Compatriot Affairs…………………………………………………….. 16 Prizes Awarded by the MFA in 2019……………………………. 17 Citizen Service……………..…………………………………………… 19 Diplomatic Missions Abroad………………………………………. 21 MFA Organisational Structure…………………………………… 23 Ministry in Figures……………………………………………………. 25 MFA Staff…………………………………………………………………. 25 State Budget Allocation to the MFA…………………………….. 26 MFA Property……………....………………………………………….. 27 Visits and Meetings……..…………………………………………….. 28 Annexes……………………………………………………………………..32 Annex 1 – Visits and Meetings in 2019………………………….32 Annex 2 – Embassies of the Czech Republic…………………. 77 Annex 3 – Permanent Missions of the Czech Republic……86 Annex 4 – Consulates General/Consulates of the Czech Republic………………………………………………….. 86 Annex 5 – Consular Offices………………………………………… 87 Annex 6 – Other Types of Missions………………………………88 Annex 7 – Honorary Consulates of the Czech Republic….89 Annex 8 – Czech Centres…………………………………………… 99 Annex 9 – Participation of the Czech Republic in Missions and Operations abroad in 2019…………………101 Annex 10 – Participation of the Czech Republic in the OSCE and EU Election Observation Missions in 2019…………………………………………………….102 Annex 11 – International Agreements in Force for the Czech Republic since 2019…………………………104 Annex 12 – MFA Publications in 2019…………………………108 Page | 3 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic During 2019 we celebrated several important anniversaries. Where else but in Czernin Palace should we commemorate the Direction of moments when our history took a new turn? Here, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Warsaw Pact was finally Czech dissolved on 1 July 1991, a move which definitely helped Czechoslovakia and other countries of Central and Eastern Diplomacy Europe to free themselves of Soviet influence. In 2019, Czech diplomacy supported several conferences on security issues. It is important to remember what the Czech in 2019 Republic has learned and gained through its membership in the Alliance. It is important to realize that our security does not begin at the national border – on the contrary, our security is at stake whenever an ally comes under threat. Ability to adapt to new threats, with their increasingly complex and hybrid nature, is also crucial for our security. The Czech Republic is ready to accept its share of responsibility and fulfil the obligations arising from its Alliance membership -- not only in response to the the United States putting pressure on the allies to meet their respective commitments, but mainly for the sake of itself, its security and its allies. Minister Tomáš Petříček with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg In March 2019, the Czech Republic commemorated the 20th anniversary of its accession to NATO. Celebrations at Prague Castle and Czernin Palace were attended by prominent guests, including former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former NATO Secretary General George Robertson. In 2019, fifteen years passed since the Czech Republic's entry in the European Union. In the context of the anniversary celebrations, Czech diplomacy sought to define its vision of the future European Union, in other words: the vision of the Union we need. In the context of the Brexit and the results of European Parliament elections, Minister Tomáš Petříček called for “an active and unbiased discussion on what the European Union truly represents, what it pursues, what it plans, and what it could or should be doing.” The last, but not least important, anniversary of 2019 was the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. On this occasion, Minister Tomáš Petříček awarded the Medal for Merit in Diplomacy to twelve personalities who have significantly Page | 4 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic contributed to the post-revolutionary course of our foreign policy. The Minister confirmed out commitment to the legacy Direction of of November 1989: “Our clear political, security, economic and civilisational anchoring in the free, developed and Czech prosperous West is the most precious legacy of the post- revolution years.” Diplomacy in 2019 Minister Tomáš Petříček presents the Medal for Merit in Diplomacy to Magdaléna Vášáryová Throughout the past year, Czech diplomacy sought to build on this legacy by strengthening bilateral relations with our key partners, promoting respect for human rights around the world, providing development, transformation and humanitarian assistance, participating in civilian and military operations, and engaging in various multilateral formats. Page | 5 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic In 2019, the Czech Republic paid increased attention to the UN reform promoted by Secretary General António Guterres. Effective It also focused on effective linking of bilateral and multilateral cooperation, both in its national policy and in the relevant EU Multi- and NATO policies. During the opening week of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, the Czech delegation, led by Prime Minister lateralism Andrej Babiš, attended the Climate Summit and the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, where the Prime Minister gave a speech on partnership for sustainable development. The Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs participated in a meeting of the Alliance for Multilateralism held on the margins of the UN General Assembly. The Czech Republic shares the Alliance's ideas; at the meeting it expressed political support for issues such as the impact of the environment on security, freedom of information, cyber security and international humanitarian law. Minister Tomáš Petříček recalled the legacy of Václav Havel in the UN In 2019, the Czech Republic played a responsible role in several international organizations. In May 2019, the Czech Republic successfully completed its presidency of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague. In January, the Czech Republic began another three-year term as a member of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), and in the same month, it also chaired the Human Dimension Committee (HDC) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The chairmanship of this committee enabled the Czech Republic to effectively link its work in the OSCE with the HRC priorities, and to increase its overall influence in this thematic area. Another major success was the election of the Czech Republic to the Executive Board of the United