THIS year we celebrate the 98th anniversary of the birth of our independence in the year 1918. The whole history of the Czech people comes back to the 10th century, one thousand year ago. It was full of important events; this year we also commemorate 700 years from birthday of Charles IV, Czech King called "Father of the Country", founder of the Charles University in Prague in 1348, the king who influenced the whole European continent. After almost 100 years of its modern history, the Czech Republic has become a modern country in the middle of Europe, a full fledged member of the EU, NATO and international organizations. These changes positively influenced relations between the Czech Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 1995, our bilateral diplomatic ties were established and since that time we have found many fields for cooperation. It is important to mention that during the Gulf War the Czech chemical troops took part on the side of the Allies and, positioned in the Kingdom, they reported in time on possible danger of use of chemical weapons. This successful operational task of the Czech troops brought to them appreciations from the Saudis and the Allies, as well as the leading role in the fight against chemical weapons worldwide. Based on that, Saudi army specialists have been trained in the Czech Republic. Let us also mention examples of peaceful cooperation. Czech brands are well known in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as industrial products or information technology. Almost everybody in the Kingdom knows Czech spas, Czech rehabilitation centers and meets the highly qualified Czech medical staff at Saudi hospitals. We, Czechs, are pleased to welcome Saudi tourists and spa guests in the Czech Republic. This year during the summer, Saudi citizens have had the opportunity to visit the Czech Republic by direct flights operated by the Czech Airlines Company. After five and half hours' flight, they could enjoy beauties of the Czech Republic and see that the Czech Republic is a safe country with rich history, splendid nature, a country where they could find high level of services at reasonable prices. Today we see the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, our host country, as a dynamic country in a process of strategic reforms represented by the "Vision 2030" and "National Transformation Plan 2020" under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. We fully support the efforts of the government of Saudi Arabia to implement these reforms. We are ready to share with the Saudi partners our experience from the transformation process of our society and economy, which successfully took place in our country after 1989. The common trade exchange between the Czech Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has risen from 1993 to 2016 significantly. During 21 years of common diplomatic relations, both countries have signed important agreements and documents, including the Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Agreement for Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investments. The perspectives of our collaboration are predominantly in sectors like construction, defence, agriculture, health and rehabilitation, railway transport, integrated urban transport, education, but we see a lot of opportunities to cooperate in the fields of up-to-date technologies, as nanotechnology, renewable energy etc. We will continue to support businesses on both sides and facilitate the B2B meetings either in the Czech Republic or here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Our common goal is to present the Czech Republic as a credible and reliable partner, a country with traditionally highly developed human potential, as well as a favourite destination for business and tourism. Together with my team at the Embassy I would like to express our gratitude for the collaboration to the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all its citizens and to confirm our commitment for further development of our bilateral relations.
