US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will arrive in the Czech Republic early Tuesday afternoon, and his visit will last until Thursday morning. A meeting between Pompeo and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš will take place on Wednesday. Senate President Miloš Vystrčil said Pompeo would also visit the upper chamber on Wednesday. Pompeo will also meet with President Miloš Zeman.
On Friday, an American advance team will discuss the exact schedule of the visit with representatives of the government office in Prague. Based on this debate, the office will consider negotiations with the Prague City Hall on possible traffic restrictions during the US Secretary’s visit. It has not yet been decided where Babiš will receive Pompeo, but the Prime Minister usually receives distinguished foreign visitors at Kramář’s villa.
The American preparatory team will also discuss the topics of negotiations with Czech politicians in Prague. “Cybersecurity will certainly be one of the main topics. Other areas of discussion are currently being fine-tuned,” the government office said.
Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček, who will also meet with Pompeo, told Czech Radio Radiožurnál today that the main topics of the talks will be security cooperation between the Czech Republic and the United States. Politicians from both countries will also discuss trade relations and regional cooperation. In addition to the Czech Republic, Pompeo will visit three other Central European countries – Poland, Austria, and Slovenia.
The Government Office confirmed Pompeo would also visit Pilsen in addition to Prague during his stay in the Czech Republic. “His participation was originally planned for May on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Pilsen by the US military, but the visit was canceled due to coronavirus,” the office said.
While visiting Central Europe, the US Secretary of State also discussed with his partners the announced relocations of part of the US troops from Germany. According to foreign media, the subject of the talks is also the security of fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks and related relations with China.
Last week, the Pentagon announced that the United States would withdraw about 12,000 troops from Germany following a decision by President Donald Trump. Poland, among which Pompeo is to visit on Saturday, August 15, is also trying to move part of the troops. On the same day, the Poles will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Warsaw.