Czech delegation visits Paarl
2005-05-12
A CZECH delegation visited the Drakenstein Municipality last week with the aim of fostering better ties and looking at possible business ventures.
According to Drakenstein’s Executive Mayor, Herman Bailey, discussions about a possible visit started in September last year.
Email letters abounded between Bailey’s office and that of the South African Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Dr Noel Lehoko.
It turned out that Lehoko, a surgeon, had lived in the previous Czeckoslovakia for a great number of years during the previous political dispensation.
When he later joined the Foreign Service President Thabo Mbeki asked Lehoko to serve as ambassador in the Czech Republic.
This means that the ambassador, who is retiring in June of this year, is fluent in the Czech language. With the ambassador came a party of 13, which included a member of Parliament, a mayor, two deputy mayors, a town secretary, several businessmen, as well as a translator.
The group visited the mayor’s office where they had discussions with councillors and the acting municipal manager.
Over lunch the party were joined by a group of 13 local business people and farmers. The South Africans and Czechs exchanged business cards and had discussions about wine and fruit exports, as well as potential investments and business ventures and opportunities.
Schalk Burger, a well-known personality in sporting and wine circles, jokingly said their Afrikaans sounded just as foreign to the Czechs as the Czech language sounded to the locals.
Afterwards Dr Lehoko invited Alderman Bailey and business people to visit the Czech Republic. He said there were great opportunities for South African exporters and importers who were willing to walk the extra proverbial mile.
Lehoko also mentioned great tourism opportunities which could be expanded between the two countries.
The local businessmen were very interested in the potential markets abroad and said they hoped to start corresponding with their new friends in the near future.
The Czech Republic officially became independent on 1 January 1993, after having been part of the country formerly known as Czechoslovakia. It currently has a population of just more than 10 million people.
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