Pope Francis meets with the President of the Czech Republic

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met with the President of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman,  who subsequently met with His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for  Relations with States.

A statement released by the Holy See Press Office called the meeting “cordial”, and noted the meeting took place on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the  restoration of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the then-Czech and Slovak Federative  Republic, which took place on 19 April 1990.

The statement said the two men spoke of their mutual willingness to strengthen the good bilateral  relations, along with their hope of concluding negotiations with a view to stipulating a  bilateral Agreement.

The Parties expressed their wish to further develop cooperation between  Church and State in sectors of mutual interest, especially in culture, education and social welfare,  for the benefit of the entire nation.

Attention then turned to the current international context, with special attention to the  situation of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East.