Ministry of Foreign Affairs Decided to Strenghten the Embassy in Israel
03.12.2020 / 13:00 | Aktualizováno: 02.03.2023 / 16:05
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic decided to strengthen the Embassy in Israel during the first half of the 2021. At the moment, the Czech republic is represented by an Embassy and three Honorary Consulates (in Jerusalem, Eilat and Haifa). With the goal to further strengthen the Czech-Israeli relations as well to facilitate the services of the MFA to the Czech citizens living in or travelling to Israel, an office of the Czech Embassy in Tel Aviv seated in Jerusalem will be opened.
In practice, in addition to the honorary consul, but a diplomat from the Czech Embassy in Tel Aviv will reside in Jerusalem. It is not the case of opening a new diplomatic mission. Based on their position, the honorary consuls can help the Czech citizens in need only in a limited way. It is an honorary, unpaid function without a complex diplomatic authority. For example, to get an emergency passport, the Czech citizens currently have to travel to Tel Aviv. By opening the new office, they could also apply in Jerusalem.
An important topic in bilateral relations is an increasing trend in the travel sector. Visitors from Israel are in the TOP 20 countries visiting the Czech Republic. Over 160 thousand visited the Czech Republic in 2019. An average length of their stay (about four days) is among the longest. Also growing is the interest of the Czech visitors in Israel. While 17 thousand Czechs visited Israel in 2016, the number doubled in 2019.
The opening of this office is not related to the ongoing peace process in the Middle East. It does not preconceive its´ outcomes nor in any way changes the long-term Czech position regarding this process.