Minister of Foreign Affairs Lipavský awards outgoing Japanese ambassador to the Czech Republic Suzuki
On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Černín Palace, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský presented the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to Diplomacy to the outgoing Japanese ambassador to the Czech Republic, Hideo Suzuki. In his speech, Lipavský praised the active engagement of the ambassador and his role in strengthening Czech-Japanese relations. The Commissioner General of the Czech participation at EXPO 2025, Ondřej Soška, also attended the ceremony.
According to Lipavský, bilateral relations between Czechia and Japan are excellent. In his speech, he also recalled his visit to Japan last week, where he signed an agreement on air services with the head of Japanese diplomacy, Yoko Kamikawa, in Tokyo. He believes this agreement lays the foundation for future establishment of direct flights between Czechia and Japan. In Osaka, he visited the building site of the Czech pavilion at EXPO 2025.
.avif?u=https%3A%2F%2Fexpo.virtii.com%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2FfVkF-whatsapp-image-2024-03-06-at-14.28.30-%284%29.jpeg&a=w%3D1280%26h%3D853%26fm%3Davif%26q%3D75&cd=4f6c714a13e51649777b2b66c7b6e5b1)
According to Suzuki, the visit of the Czech minister to Japan laid the groundwork for a new chapter in Czech-Japanese relations. He also mentioned the action plan signed by representatives of both countries in 2021, setting out key areas of cooperation until 2025. Therefore, a new vision is needed, he said.
Suzuki, who has served as ambassador to Czechia since September 2020, is set to be replaced by career diplomat Kansuke Nagaoka.
The Medal for Distinguished Contribution to Diplomacy has been awarded since 2019, and among its recipients are various Czech and foreign personalities and organizations that have contributed to strengthening democracy and human rights or deepening relations between their country and Czechia.
Most recently, in early January, Alexis Dutertre, the outgoing French ambassador, received said award from Lipavský. Last November, the minister also honored former Czech ambassador to Ukraine Radek Matula, Helena Koenigsmarková, who led the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague for over 30 years, Czech language textbook author Lenka Froulíková, and Olympic javelin thrower Barbora Špotáková.
Source: Czech News Agency, with own editorial modifications
