POLITICAL RELATIONS

The official relations between Czechoslovakia and Australia were first established at a consular level in 1920 and at a diplomatic level in 1972.

The first resident Czechoslovak Ambassador in Canberra was appointed on 13 September 1988 and the first resident Australian Ambassador in the Czech Republic on 18 July 1990.

The Australian Embassy in Prague was closed in August 1992 due to financial reasons.

On 1 January 1993 Australia officially recognized the Czech Republic and on the same day the two countries established diplomatic relations.

Presently the Australian Ambassador to the Czech Republic is accredited from Warsaw. The Embassy of Australia in Warsaw is responsible for consular matters and economic relations with the Czech Republic. The Australian Embassy in Vienna is concerned with the immigration policy and is responsible for issuing visas. The Consulate of Australia in the Czech Republic is dealing mainly with business and trade issues.

The Czech Republic has established honorary consulates in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. The Adelaide and Perth consulates are working under the guidance of the Consulate-General of the Czech Republic in Sydney.

For more information about the bilateral relations between the Czech Republic and Australia please visit The Czech Republic Country Brief.

BILATERAL VISITS

In September 1993 a Czech Parliament delegation participated in the Interparliamentary Union conference in Australia. The same year Mr Karel Dyba, Minister for the Economy of the Czech Republic, visited Australia. In April 1993 Mr Josef Zieleniec, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, visited Australia accompanied by a large group of Czech entrepreneurs.

The most important official visit in recent years was that of President Václav Havel in March 1995. Mr Ivan Kočárník, Minister for Finance, and Mr Josef Tošovský, Governor of the Czech National Bank, were among members of the delegation. During the visit the Agreement on Prevention of Double Taxation was signed.

In 1996 an official visit of the President of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, Mr Zdeněk Kessler, was held at the Australian Supreme Court.

In early 1998 Mr William Hayden, former General-Governor of Australia, was welcomed in the Czech Republic by President Václav Havel.

In September 1998 Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Jan Kavan accepted an invitation of Mr Alexander Downer, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to take part in an informal ministerial meeting to support a priority of signing so-called "Verification Protocol" of the Biological Weapons Convention.

In May 1999 Mr Jan Fencl, Minister of the Agriculture of the Czech Republic, came to Australia for negotiations with his counterpart, Mr Mark Vaile, and other representatives.

In November 1999 the delegation of the Committee for Economy, Agriculture and Transport of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic visited Australia.

From September 24th to September 29th 2000 Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Rod Kemp, took part in the IMF Conference held in Prague.

In 2000 Mr Eduard Zeman, Minister for Education, Youth and Sports, visited Australia as the Czech Republic's official guest at the Olympic Games in Sydney.

From November 26th to November 28th 2000 the Senate of the Czech Republic hosted a delegation of the Australian Parliament.

In late October and early November 2000 the delegation of the Committee for Health and Social Policy of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, led by the Committee's President Dr František Bartoš, visited Australia.

From April 15th to April 20th 2001 a delegation of the Australian Parliament led by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Neil Andrew, came to the Czech Republic.

From July 12th to July 14th 2001 Deputy Minister of the Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Mr Martin Palouš, paid a visit in Australia.

In April 2002 Senator Karel Barták and his Czech Senate delegation were presented to the Senate of Australia as well as to several countrymen clubs.

In August 2002 Mr Phillip Ruddock, Minister of Immigration of Australia, paid a private call to Prague and had a meeting with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Pavel Vošalík.

From April 10th to April 13th 2003 a delegation of the Subcommittee for Trade of the Joint Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade represented the Australian Parliament in the Czech Republic. Senator Alan B Ferguson, Head of the Committee, led the Australian party. The delegation's report named Expanding Australia's Trade and Investment Relations with Central Europe is available at www.dfat.gov.au/geo/czech_republic/index.html.

In May 2003 Mr Pavel Vošalík, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, negotiated in Canberra.

In October 2003 Mr Václav Petříček, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, visited Australia.

In February 2004 Mr Cyril Svoboda, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, came to Australia for a short working visit. He had negotiations with Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson, NSW Governor M. Bashir and other federal and state representatives.

In October 2004, five Senators representing the Committee on Public Administration, Regional Development and the Environment of the Senate of the Czech Republic visited Canberra and Sydney. Sen Jiří Brýdl, Head of the Committee, was the leader of the delegation.

Mr Petr Bendl, Governor of the Central Bohemia region, visited Australia on 4 - 12 June 2005. He was received by Mr Jim Lloyd, Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, and had meetings with representatives of the Department of Finance and Administration, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, the Department of Education, Science and Training, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and with representatives of Australian state governments and several important private companies.

Mr Alexander Downer, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia, visited the Czech Republic on 14 - 15 September 2005. He had negotiations with Mr Cyril Svoboda, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lubomír Zaorálek, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament, and Mr Pavel Bém, Mayor of the City of Prague. Mr Downer also had a public lecture at the Prague Society for International Cooperation.

Dr. Pavel Svoboda, Czech Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal, Consular and Economic Affairs, visited Australia on 18 - 22 October 2005, to launch the "Czech Republic - Little Big Country" exhibition in Sydney. He also had negotiations with his counterparts at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Immigration andMulticultural and Indigenous Affairs in Canberra.

Mr. Robert Szurman, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, was in Australia at the same time. He met Sen Sandy Macdonald, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade of Australia, during the "Czech Republic - Little Big Country" exhibition launch.

On the 6 - 11 May 2006 a delegation from the Czech Senate Committee of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, led by their Chairperson Jaroslav Kubera, visited Australia. The delegation was welcomed by leaders of both chambers of the Australian Federal Parliament - Speaker of the House of Representatives, David Hawker and President of the Senate, Paul Calvert. The Czech Senators then held discussions with their counterparts from the Australian Senate, the House of Representatives and with representatives from many other institutions (High Court of Australia, Parliament of New South Wales, Faculty of Law at University of Sydney, representatives of towns and regions). On a number of occasions they also met with Czech community members.

The Parliamentary Czech-Australian and New Zealand Group established in the Parliament of the Czech Republic consists of 29 members. The Czech-Australian Parliamentary Group of the Parliament of Australia has also 29 members and is presided by The Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP.