Article by Hans Weber

Direct Contacts Before Departure Open Doors for Czech Business Abroad

On 19 August 2026, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic invited representatives of Czech companies, business associations and the media to Prague for a special meeting with senior Czech diplomats preparing to take up new postings abroad.

The first of a series of meetings organised on 19 and 20 August by the Ministry’s Economic and Science Diplomacy Department focused on three particularly interesting territories: North Macedonia, Palestine and Vietnam. The event offered Czech entrepreneurs the opportunity to meet the diplomats who would soon represent Czech interests in these countries, discuss the economic situation on the respective markets and establish personal contacts before the diplomats departed for their new assignments.

The afternoon was led by Tomáš Kuchta, one of the Czech Foreign Ministry’s most experienced figures in economic diplomacy. Since February 2026, Kuchta has served as Director General of the Economic and Science Diplomacy and Development Cooperation Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before assuming this senior position, he headed the Ministry’s Economic and Science Diplomacy Department from July 2024 until January 2026. He had previously served as Czech Ambassador to Serbia from 2018 to 2024 and, earlier in his career, held a number of positions dealing directly with trade, economic relations and export promotion.

That background made Kuchta a particularly fitting host for a meeting whose purpose went considerably beyond the ceremonial presentation of new ambassadors.

At the heart of the event was a fundamental principle of modern Czech diplomacy: an embassy is not only a political representation of the state. It is also an important point of contact for Czech companies seeking access to foreign markets.

New Faces for Skopje and Hanoi

The Czech Republic’s new Ambassador to North Macedonia is Irena Götzová, an experienced career diplomat who has worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2001.

Her diplomatic career has concentrated particularly on European affairs and South-Eastern Europe. During her years at the Ministry, she has worked in departments responsible for security policy, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe as well as foreign-policy analysis and planning. Her experience therefore fits particularly well with a posting in North Macedonia, a country whose European integration process remains one of the major political questions in the Western Balkans.

The new Czech Ambassador to Vietnam is Lukáš Kaucký, who brings extensive experience in both diplomacy and public administration to Hanoi.

Kaucký served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2014 and 2019 and subsequently represented the Czech Republic as Ambassador to Bulgaria from 2019 to 2024. The Foreign Ministry officially announced in July 2026 that he would take over the Czech Embassy in Vietnam, and the Embassy in Hanoi now lists him as Head of Mission.

Vietnam is of particular interest for Czech economic diplomacy. Long-standing historical links between the two countries, a substantial Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic and Vietnam’s rapidly developing economy provide numerous opportunities for closer commercial cooperation.

For Czech companies, direct access to the incoming ambassador can therefore be exceptionally valuable.

The Czech Representation in Ramallah

The third territory represented at the 19 August meeting was Palestine.

There is an important diplomatic distinction in this case. The Czech Republic does not maintain an embassy in Ramallah but a Representative Office, or Liaison Office, responsible for relations with the Palestinian territories.

The Foreign Ministry’s report on the 19 August meeting explicitly states that the gathering included the newly departing head of the Czech Liaison Office in Ramallah. However, the published report does not identify that incoming head by name. The Ministry’s public mission directory was still listing Jakub Šlosárek as Head of Mission when checked, while a separate Foreign Ministry announcement states that Šlosárek is moving to Egypt as Czech Ambassador. For that reason, the identity of the incoming Ramallah head should not be stated until it is officially published or otherwise confirmed by the Ministry.

The distinction is important not merely for protocol. The political and economic environment in the Palestinian territories presents very different conditions from the other two destinations discussed that afternoon, and first-hand knowledge from Czech diplomats on the ground can be particularly valuable for companies, development organisations and institutions considering activities in the region.

Diplomacy and Business at the Same Table

The Foreign Ministry described the meetings on 19 and 20 August as an opportunity for representatives of business, professional associations and the wider expert community to discuss economic priorities and commercial opportunities in foreign markets directly with senior Czech diplomats.

The first event focused on Skopje, Hanoi and Ramallah. A second meeting the following day brought together Czech business representatives and newly departing ambassadors bound for Washington, Rome, Lisbon and Doha. A separate round table was also organised with incoming Czech Ambassador to the United States Jakub Kulhánek.

The logic behind these meetings is straightforward.

A Czech entrepreneur considering entering Vietnam, North Macedonia or another foreign market can obtain statistics, commercial reports and legal information from many different sources. What is much harder to obtain is the personal assessment of the person who will shortly become the Czech Republic’s senior representative in that country.

An ambassador and his or her economic team have access to ministries, government institutions, chambers of commerce, local companies and political decision-makers. They understand not only what the formal rules say but also how a market functions in practice.

For a company preparing an investment or an export strategy, such information can be extremely valuable.

Meeting an ambassador personally before his or her departure also creates something that cannot easily be reproduced by email: a direct relationship.

When the Czech entrepreneur later arrives in Hanoi or Skopje, the embassy is no longer an anonymous institution and the ambassador is no longer simply a name on an official website. Both sides have already met, exchanged ideas and discussed the company’s plans.

That personal element remains surprisingly important even in an increasingly digital diplomatic environment.

Ambassadors Return to Prague Every August

The timing of the business meeting was no coincidence.

The second half of August traditionally represents a very special period in Czech diplomacy. Heads of Czech diplomatic missions from around the world return to Prague for the annual meeting of Czech ambassadors, centred on the historic Czernin Palace, the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 2026, the annual meeting was scheduled for 24 to 28 August. It was opened by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka. According to the Foreign Ministry, the programme focused on the central questions of Czech foreign policy, strengthening the country’s security and prosperity within the European Union, developing international partnerships, promoting Czech interests abroad, new technologies, communication and regional priorities.

It is one of the rare moments of the year when much of the leadership of the Czech diplomatic network is physically present in Prague at the same time.

Ambassadors normally spend the overwhelming majority of their working lives thousands of kilometres apart: in Washington, Beijing, Delhi, Hanoi, Cairo, Pretoria, Buenos Aires or dozens of other capitals.

During the annual conference, this global network temporarily comes together under one roof.

A Long-Standing Diplomatic Tradition

The Prague ambassadors’ meeting is by no means a new invention.

Foreign Ministry archives document the annual gathering of ambassadors and consuls general at the Czernin Palace at least as far back as 2010, when Czech diplomats met in Prague to discuss European Union affairs, security, economics and other foreign-policy issues. That meeting was opened by Prime Minister Petr Nečas and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg.

The same annual format is documented in 2011 and 2012. In August 2012, for example, heads of Czech missions met at the Czernin Palace for several days to discuss foreign policy, EU affairs, security and economic questions.

The Ministry’s archives contain evidence of meetings of Czech ambassadors even earlier. In March 2006, then Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda opened a meeting of Czech ambassadors serving in EU and NATO countries. This demonstrates that bringing ambassadors back to Prague for coordinated consultations has been part of Czech diplomatic practice for at least two decades, although the available archival material does not establish that the 2006 meeting was identical in format to today’s comprehensive annual late-summer conference.

The annual late-August meeting has since become firmly established in the diplomatic calendar.

In 2024 it ran from 26 to 30 August, and in 2025 from 25 to 29 August. The continuity of both timing and format demonstrates how firmly the meeting has become embedded in the working rhythm of Czech foreign policy.

More Than an Internal Conference

From the outside, an ambassadors’ conference might appear to be primarily an internal administrative meeting.

In reality, its function is broader.

Ambassadors receive briefings on government priorities and exchange information about developments in their respective regions. They discuss security, European policy, bilateral relations, consular affairs and economic diplomacy. They meet political leaders and senior government officials and compare developments across regions.

In 2025, for example, the agenda included the war in Ukraine, European security and prosperity, the Middle East, consular services, strategic communication and improving economic diplomacy. Participants also met the President of the Republic and members of the Senate.

Foreign Minister Petr Macinka described the purpose of such meetings particularly clearly in August 2026. Speaking in North Macedonia shortly before the Czech conference, he stressed that ambassadors must do more than report what happened yesterday: they must help anticipate what may happen tomorrow, what it means for the Czech Republic and what the country can do about it.

That is perhaps the best explanation of why the annual gathering matters.

A Unique Opportunity for Czech Companies

For Czech business, however, the concentration of diplomatic expertise in Prague offers another advantage.

During most of the year, a company wishing to meet several Czech ambassadors responsible for widely separated markets would have to travel thousands of kilometres. During the ambassadors’ conference, many of them can be reached in Prague within a matter of days.

The Foreign Ministry can therefore use the occasion to connect companies with ambassadors, economic diplomats and other officials responsible for specific markets.

For an exporter, this can help answer highly practical questions:

Which sectors offer the greatest opportunities?

Which infrastructure projects are being prepared?

Who are the reliable local partners?

Which political or regulatory developments could affect an investment?

Where are Czech technologies particularly competitive?

What support can the embassy provide?

And who should a Czech company meet during its next visit?

Such questions illustrate why economic diplomacy has become an increasingly important part of the work of modern embassies.

An ambassador may represent the Czech Republic politically, but promoting Czech economic interests abroad is also an important part of the mission.

The Ministry itself emphasised after the August meetings that direct exchanges of information and experience help identify new opportunities for Czech companies and improve the support provided to exporters and investors through the Czech Republic’s worldwide diplomatic network.

From Prague to the World

The 19 August event therefore represented something larger than a farewell reception for diplomats preparing to pack their suitcases.

It provided a bridge between diplomacy and business.

For the ambassadors, it was an opportunity to learn directly about the interests, projects and concerns of Czech companies before arriving in their new host countries.

For business representatives, it offered something equally valuable: personal access to people who will soon occupy some of the most important Czech positions abroad.

And for the Foreign Ministry, it demonstrated how diplomatic representation can be linked directly to the practical economic interests of the Czech Republic.

Within days, the ambassadors and heads of mission would disperse once again across the world.

But for one afternoon in Prague, Czech diplomacy and Czech business had the opportunity to sit together, establish contacts and discuss how those relationships could be transformed into concrete opportunities abroad.