Prague, March 25 (CTK) – Paul Ryan, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, probably arrived in Prague this afternoon for a private visit during which he would meet Czech PM Andrej Babis (ANO) on Monday and visit both houses of parliament on Tuesday.
A meeting with President Milos Zeman is not on Ryan’s schedule.
Ryan’s arrival in Prague was indicated by a motorcade of limousine accompanied by police cars, leaving the VIP area of the Prague-Ruzyne international airport this afternoon.
Ryan with his family is supposed to stay in the Czech Republic for a few days.
On Monday, he will visit the U.S. embassy in Prague and give an interview to the Radio Free Europe, according to CTK sources.
He will also attend a closed debate with students on the Charles University premises during his stay in Prague.
On Tuesday, Ryan will address an extraordinary session of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Czech parliament. He and Chamber of Deputies chairman Radek Vondracek (ANO) should also sign a joint declaration, referring to the establishment of the independent Czechoslovakia 100 years ago and the U.S. contribution to it.
In the Senate, the upper house, Ryan will take part in a conference on the role of the United States in the European security architecture 100 years later.
His Monday meeting with Babis will be held behind closed doors like most Ryan’s programme in Prague.
The previous U.S. supreme representative to visit the Czech Republic officially was president Barack Obama in 2010. He attended the U.S.-Russian summit in Prague where he and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). They also held bilateral talks with the then Czech head of state, Vaclav Klaus.