Czech Trade and Czech Invest to pool foreign networks

The Czech Ministry of Trade and Industry has announced that the investment-development agency Czech Invest and the export-support agency Czech Trade will pool the resources of their foreign networks as of the beginning of next year. The move will see both agencies use a combined network of foreign offices to provide services to foreign investors and exporters.

The Minister for Trade and Industry Martin Riman stressed that both agencies were not merging but simply operating out of one office in territories where the two of them are represented. He added that the measure was being implemented as part of the government's long-term plans to streamline Czech economic diplomacy and that combining resources in this way would save the country 12-15 million Czech crowns per year.

Czech Invest currently has 9 foreign offices while Czech Trade has 32.The cities where both agencies will use the same office are Cologne, Paris, London, Dublin, Brussels, Rotterdam, Chicago and Chengdu.