Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

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Cooperation with Business

 

Effective economic diplomacy must reflect the needs of businesses. The private sector must be involved in decision-making on the shaping and application of fundamental aspects of economic diplomacy.

Cooperation with Business

Effective economic diplomacy must reflect the needs of businesses. The private sector must be involved in decision-making on the shaping and application of fundamental aspects of economic diplomacy. Consequently, the Czech Council for Trade and Investment was established as a permanent advisory and coordinating body of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Representatives of the trade and industry and foreign affairs ministries and of other bodies of state administration and their subordinate institutions sit on the Council with private sector representatives.

The Council’s principal activities are:

  • developing partner relations with the private sector;
  • coordinating individual components of the Czech Republic’s foreign policy;
  • providing feedback on the private sector’s satisfaction with the services of economic diplomacy;
  • putting in place the right conditions for the effective promotion of Czech economic interests abroad;
  • making use of the uniform brand of the Czech Republic when promoting the country around the world through trade and investment.

The Council is empowered to make proposals and recommendations that either ministry may utilise to improve the quality of state services. The Council also works with the relevant committees of both chambers of Parliament, with the Office of the President of the Republic and with the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic.

Uniform presentation of the Czech Republic in the world

 In order to improve the presentation, the above mentioned bodies implement the Concept of Uniform Presentation of the Czech Republic and its main objective to present the Czech Republic as a modern developed country with indigenous culture and identity, based upon knowledge and innovation potential, and a credible partner in the world community. Uniform presentation enables to create best conditions for the realization of economic diplomacy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs operates as the coordinator and guarantor of the uniform presentation of the Czech Republic in the world.  Internet portal Czech.cz operated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs represents a significant communication instrument of the uniform presentation of the Czech Republic at home and abroad. The Portal has been divided thematically into five sections in five languages – Czech, English, French, German, Spanish and Russian.

State services for exporters and investors

Special emphasis is placed on the quality and effectiveness of state services for businesses. These are not merely limited to the export of goods. The goal is to offer professional and high-quality services, to secure investments and to put in place a liberal trade policy which focuses on trade facilitation and the removal of barriers to foreign markets. These services should be available to the widest possible range of organisations and should meet the expectations placed on state services in a market economy. The services are divided into several types: training, advice, information, assistance and presentation services, and export financing and insurance. The services are mainly provided through internet portals such as Export Hotline, BusinessInfo.cz and Export.cz, for example. A joint project team, comprising members from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as from other ministries, agencies and the business community, is improving the export opportunities information system so that this information is presented to businesses in a uniform and easily searchable manner and the undesirable duplication of data, which previously existed in the system, is eliminated. Last but not least, it is in the interests of state institutions to make the services they provide more accessible to businesses in the various regions of the Czech Republic – this is characteristic of developed countries. With this in mind, CzechTrade and the Czech Chamber of Commerce set up a joint project for the development of thirteen regional export points in the regions. Employees of these export points offer the export-promotion services of CzechTrade, the Export Guarantee and Insurance Company and the Czech Export Bank. As part of its export-support work, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has concluded cooperation agreements with the Defence Industry Association of the Czech Republic, the Czech Chamber of Commerce and the Confederation of Industry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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