​(Communicated by the President's Spokesperson)
 
President Reuven Rivlin met this morning (Sunday, 22 May 2016) at his residence, with Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Bohuslav Sobotka, who was visiting Israel as part of the ongoing G2G engagements between the two countries.
 
"It is a pleasure to welcome you in Jerusalem," said President Rivlin, and added, "and to return some of your hospitality after my visit to your beautiful country in October last year. We appreciate very much your support, and the bilateral G2G engagements show the depth of our relationship, and the extent to which we are partners working together in many fields - including education, agriculture and security."
 
Prime Minister Sobotka thanked the President for his hospitality and said, "I have brought with me a large delegation to Israel. Our countries share common values, and a joint history, and so it is important for us to strengthen our partnership with Israel. The tradition of our friendship runs deep and predates even the establishment of the State of Israel."
 
He added. "Our G2G meetings present us with an opportunity not just to talk about the past, but to look at the future, and we are ready to discuss a number of areas which will lead to, and be conducive to better cooperation in the future - including in security and defense, but also in the areas of science, and research and development. Our bilateral trade is also progressing, and we have cooperation in areas such as the environment, and tourism which increases the friendship between our peoples. These are practical and pragmatic things which can bring our two nations even closer together in the years to come."