On Monday, November 11, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated that he had a phone conversation with President-elect Trump. Fiala described the dialogue as very pleasant.
Fiala took to social media platform X to express, “The call with Trump was fantastic! I congratulated the President-elect, and we discussed Ukraine, Israel, and the Middle East.”
“We also reminisced about his late (first) wife Ivana, and talked about the President’s memories of Prague. I am looking forward to our close cooperation! The Czech Republic stands as a staunch supporter of Ukraine against Russian aggression and is also one of Israel’s closest allies in the EU,” Fiala wrote.
Trump’s late ex-wife was a Czech-American, a world-class skier, and a successful businesswoman.
Fiala is a conservative politician who took office in December 2021, leading a four-party coalition government.
His ruling coalition emphasizes cooperation with democratic governments like Taiwan and Japan, and is dedicated to changing the previous President Zeman’s approach of deepening relations with China and Russia.
On the same day, Marek Benda, the chairman of the Czech Chamber of Deputies’ Friends of Taiwan group, led a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers to Taiwan for a 3-day visit. Members include Eva Decroix, Vice-Chair of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and Co-Chair of the IPAC, Jakub Michalek of the Pirate Party, and Jan Jakob of TOP09.
During their visit to Taiwan, the Czech delegation will also meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu among other senior officials.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Czech Republic is an important and solid partner for Taiwan in Central and Eastern Europe. The two countries share common values such as democracy, freedom, rule of law, and human rights, and have closely cooperated on various projects over the years. Additionally, they join forces to support other democratic countries like Ukraine in countering the expansion of authoritarianism.