President Miloš Zeman welcomed Hungarian President Katalin Nováková at Prague Castle. 3 Mar 2023.
Prague – Acting President Miloš Zeman today received Hungarian President Katalin Nováková with military honors at Prague Castle. It is another of Zeman's farewell meetings. This will be followed by a meeting between the two heads of state and a joint lunch. Nováková arrived without her husband, and Czech first lady Ivana Zemanová did not attend the reception at Matyáš's gate.
Advertisement'; }
Photogallery
/p>
Before the reception, she at 10:40 a.m. ceremonially the castle guard accompanied by military music, the Czech and Hungarian flags flew over the courtyard. Contrary to the announced schedule, the arrival of the statesmen was slightly delayed, the president arrived at the castle courtyard at 11:05, followed by Nováková ten minutes later. Zeman gave her flowers and together they listened to national anthems.
After the arrival of the castle guard and the military parade, the two presidents went to a joint meeting. After that, he will speak at a press conference. Then they sit down to have lunch together. In the afternoon, Nováková will meet with Zeman's successor Petr Pavl.
The Hungarian presidential office has already announced in advance that Nováková will award Zeman the Hungarian Cross of Merit state award during her trip to Prague as “an expression of the Hungarian nation's respect”.
Since the beginning of the year, the outgoing Czech president met Polish President Andrzej Duda in Náchod, and on his last foreign visit he was in Slovakia, where he held talks with Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová. He also said goodbye to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade and via video link he spoke on Monday with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and on Wednesday a week ago with Israeli by President Yitzchak Herzog. Already in January, he connected with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He last met with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen in Prague this week.
