You’ve been serving as the ambassador of the Czech Republic in Mongolia for two years now. Has your impression of Mongolia changed over this period, particularly from the expectations you had before coming to the country?

I’d been serving as a diplomat for 14 years prior to coming to Mongolia. I spent almost 10 years of this time working in the foreign policy department of the office of former Czech President Vaclav Klaus. I came with the president to Mongolia when he visited in 2006. Compared to then, the country’s economy has significantly grown and Mongolia found its path toward democracy and market economy. Just like Mongolia, not everything was perfect in our country, but it’s good to compare things from then to now. Positive signs are prominent on this time line.

The first president of Czechoslovakia, Tomas Masaryk, once said, “If our democracy has its faults, then we must overcome these faults, not overcome democracy.” During the last two years, I’ve been serving as ambassador, I realized that Mongolia is a friendly country that preserved its independence and customs, and a country with beautiful landscapes. Mongolia and the Czech Republic will celebrate the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations next year. Thanks to our many years of friendly relations, Mongolians and Czech people have become very close and are very interactive with one another.

As the Czech ambassador, what are your plans for expanding social and economic partnerships between the two countries?

This year, we will continue realizing high-level visits between our countries and consular consultations and we’ve become ready to sign readmission, social security and education and cultural agreements.

Personally, I pay a lot of attention to developing trade relations because currently, the annual trade turnover between our two countries is around 16 million USD, which is very low compared to our opportunities. The Czech Republic conducts 83 percent of its foreign trade with developed countries, of which 75 percent are European Union countries. We want to reach out to Mongolia and other Asian countries. Every year, we organize business missions to Mongolia together with the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic and the number of interested Czech companies is increasing every year. This meeting will be held in June this year. We are working not only to support Mongolia's development in energy, agriculture, food production, construction, mining, and infrastructure, but also bring back Czech brands such as Skoda Auto, Tatra, Pilsner Urquell, and Tesla.

I should also like to mention the education sector. Mongolian students can study in the Czech Republic for free. Our government also offers 12 scholarships per year, as well as three quotas for a summer course in the Czech Republic for Mongolians. Regrettably, one of the biggest problems is that selected Mongolian students are declining their scholarship or don’t contact their school, which is like throwing their scholarship into the garbage bin.

Can you introduce some of the projects and programs the embassy is carrying out? The Czech Republic has been working closely with Mongolia in the geology sector. Which other areas have the potential for collaboration?

On the occasion of this year´s 80th anniversary of the Mongolian geology institute, the Mongolian minister of mining and heavy industry invited Czech geologists to attend the celebratory reception in October. Right now, we’re contacting geologists and making the attendance list. Czech geologists are involved in important mining and pollution reduction projects. Czech foresters are also doing a really important project in Shariingol.

This year’s development projects focus on introducing Czech technology to dairy production and supplying special chimneys that can improve the air quality in Ulaanbaatar. Prague ZOO’s project to relocate Przewalski horses is continuing for the ninth year. The ZOO has expanded its operations and as the next phase of the project, it is trying to protect rare and endangered animals in the Great Gobi A Strictly Protected Area. The Prague City Council has decided to make a donation to this project. A portion of every ticket sold to people visiting the ZOO (approximately 1.5 million people see the institute annually) will be donated to the so called in situ projects.

The Czech Republic also completed a low-cost feasibility study for an ice hockey rink. We’re hoping that the Ulaanbaatar administration will use this world-recognized Czech ice hockey rubberstamp for construction.

In the future, in relation to successfully implemented Czech development and cooperation projects, we hope to cooperate in forestry, agriculture, environment (especially aquaculture), urban planning, infrastructure, and civil aviation. We plan to get funding for these projects from the European Union and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as the Czech Republic substantially contributes to their budgets.

The embassy’s workload must have increased since opening a new visa application center in Ulaanbaatar. Moreover, the Czech Embassy is also accepting applications for the employment cards for 1,000 Mongolians under the Czech government’s decision. Studies show that there are over 10,000 Mongolians studying or working in the Czech Republic. Nevertheless, the number of Mongolians interested in going to your country is increasing. Is it possible to increase the quota for Mongolian workers?

We can’t deny the significance of the opening of the VFS Center for accepting applications for Schengen short-term visa in Mongolia. Mongolians can now apply for a visa via the internet without facing the risk of encountering a fake intermediary. There’s no limit to the number of applications that can be submitted.

As for the employment card, the Czech government decides on the number. If the government decides to increase the quota, our embassy will implement it. I can disclose that we are increasing the number of staff members in the Consular section as of early May. By doing so, we can enhance our capacity and register over approx. 300 applicants for the employment card via phone, above the regime quota of 1000.

From my point of view, it is also necessary to provide Mongolians the opportunity to work in their home country using Czech investment and smart solutions. For example, Czech Khaanzaa Company built a wastewater treatment facility and Finep Company built a block of apartments in Orkhon Province.

Are there any projects that are ongoing since the previous ambassador’s time?

A lot of our work is focused on public diplomacy. We’re also focusing on promoting Czech culture in Mongolia. Our embassy is resuming its campaign to screen Czech films once every two months with Mongolian subtitles at iCinema. We will get two stands on Sukhbaatar square for the European Day event this year too. Moreover, we’re preparing very nice events which will coincide with two important historical anniversaries.

Ambassadors are like managers. The work I’m doing in Mongolia is similar to what I did previously in Denmark. I have to lead people, decide operations of the embassy, send relevant information back to the Czech Republic, develop relationship and communications with Mongolians, and strengthen relations with other ambassadors and representatives of international organizations here in Mongolia.

For me, it’s important to pay attention to improving the dispositions of the embassy, to make them more comfortable both for the consular clients and for the embassy staff. We have cooperated with owners of Sky Plaza this year, to build a new reception building, so that people who are coming to receive consular services don’t wait outside. The premises of the embassy have changed slightly too. Our political department moved to new offices and our consular department got bigger. We did all of this so that the new ambassador, who will come in a year-and-a-half, can work without any difficulty. I hope that in advancing the bilateral relations too, I will be able to hand over him the relay with a good time I have run.