FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa, ON – On Friday, October 23, Conservative Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Michael Chong held a phone call with H.E. Bořek Lizec, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Canada, about Canada-Czech Republic relations.
MP Chong highlighted several items with the Ambassador, including:
- The long-standing and friendly ties between Canada and the Czech Republic, including Canada’s role in sheltering Czechoslovakia political refugees in the 1940s and 1960s.
- Chong noted the opportunity to expand trade with the Czech Republic, a member of the European Union. Chong noted that the new Canada-European Union trade agreement provided the platform on which to expand trade.
- Chong highlighted the need for liberal democracies to increase their cooperation – diplomatically and economically – as a way to counter the increasing threats posed by authoritarian regimes.
H.E. Bořek Lizec congratulated MP Chong on his appointment and thanked him for the Conservatives’ continued support for the Czech Republic. H.E. discussed the creation of a Canada-Czech friendship group, Canadian investments in the Czech Republic in sectors such as transportation, cooperation as military allies with Czech troops under Canadian command in Latvia, and challenges in the Czech-China bilateral relationship.
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