US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and President Miloš Zeman today, and he will also have a speech in the Senate. Babiš wants to talk to the head of American diplomacy, mainly about business issues. Senators and Pompey would like to address cybersecurity and relations with Russia and China. Pompeo has been in the Czech Republic since Tuesday, on the first day of his visit to Pilsen he held talks with Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček.
Babiš will welcome Pompeo before noon in Kramář’s villa, where a working lunch awaits them, which will also be attended by the Minister of Industry and Transport Karel Havlíček and the Minister of Defense Lubomír Metnar. Babiš said that he considered trade cooperation with the USA and the fight against coronavirus to be a priority in the talks. On the American side, he expects to raise the construction of new nuclear power units in the Czech Republic. US diplomacy has announced that Pompeo will talk to Czech officials about the response to China and Russia’s growing influence. After the meeting, Babiš and Pompeo will speak at a joint press conference at the Straka Academy.
After meeting Babiš, Pompeo will give a speech in the Senate. He will first meet with the Speaker of the Upper House of Parliament Miloš Vystrčil and the head of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Pavel Fischer. He should then give a speech of about five minutes to lawmakers, followed by a discussion with senators about a quarter of an hour.
In the afternoon, Pompeo will be received at Prague Castle by President Zeman, and Babiš will also attend the meeting. The US State Department said before the start of Pompeo’s trip that the meeting at the Castle would be more polite. No joint press conference of Pompeo and Zeman is planned.