20th Anniversary of the Accession of the Czech Republic into NATO
13.03.2019 / 03:12 | Aktualizováno: 18.07.2022 / 11:13
The Czech Republic will be remembering many symbolic anniversaries throughout 2019. Out of all of these, the 20th Anniversary of the accession of the Czech Republic into NATO will be one of the most significant.
It marked the first extension of an alliance since the end of the Cold War and a milestone which solidified the course of the Czech Republic and firmly anchored the country in Euro-Atlantic structures. Membership in NATO is a vital factor in our country’s ability to defend itself.
The Czech Republic became a member of NATO on 12th March 1999 together with Hungary and Poland. It was the first country from the former ‘Eastern Bloc’ to enter into the North Atlantic Alliance, having received an invitation for accession at the 1997 Madrid Summit.
Exactly twenty years ago, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs from all three countries each deposited their respective instruments of ratification to their American colleague, Madeleine Albright.
The main part of the celebrations of 20 years since the accession of the Czech Republic into NATO will take place on Tuesday 12th March 2019 at Prague Castle in the presence of many significant guests both from the Czech Republic and overseas. The celebratory event will be attended by the highest state officials of the government and parliament, representatives from the army and other armed and security forces, former politicians or diplomats who contributed towards accession into NATO, members of the security community and members of the academia and so on. The celebration will take place in the presence of the president of the Republic of Hungary, Jánose Ádera, president of the Republic of Poland, Andrzeje Dudy, and the president of the Republic of Slovakia, Andreje Kisky, defence ministers, remaining countries from the V4 as well as current and former key officials of NATO and the USA, the diplomatic corps among other guests.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also be observing the anniversary in Černínský Palace, where a security conference entitled, ‘naše bezpečnost není samozřejmost’ (Our Safety isn’t a given), will take place.
Here at the embassy of the Czech Republic in Canberra, we marked the anniversary by ceremonially raising the flag of NATO, followed by a celebratory lunch hosted by the Ambassador, attended by both former and current representatives of the Australian government and the Canadian High Commission, who are currently the NATO contact point embassy in Australia.