From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
‘Invest in friendly countries:’ Sa’ar holds business forum on visit to Czech Republic
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
During a diplomatic visit to the Czech Republic, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar conducts a business forum along with his Czech counterpart, Petr Macinka, and some 200 Israeli and Czech businesspeople, according to a statement from Sa’ar’s office.
“The forum reflects our intention to strengthen the strategic partnership between our governments… My foreign policy is: invest in friendly countries. And the Czech Republic is one of Israel’s greatest friends,” Sa’ar says in the statement.
Economic and tourism ties between the countries have increased in recent years, according to Sa’ar’s office, which says that bilateral trade between Israel and the Czech Republic surpassed $1.4 billion in 2025, and that Israeli tourism in the Czech Republic jumped 33.4 percent that year compared to 2024.
The Czech Republic has “always” been an advocate for Israel in the European Union and will remain so, Macinka told The Times of Israel last month, days after the electoral defeat of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who was widely seen as Israel’s most reliable ally in Europe.
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