Czech Republic to close seven diplomatic missions

The Czech Foreign Ministry has decided to close seven of its diplomatic missions, three embassies and four consulates. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalova said the ministry would release the names of the given countries only after these countries have been officially informed. The government has already approved the closures. According to the news server Aktualne.cz the missions to be closed include the Czech embassies in Zimbabwe and Uruguay, and consulates in Katowice, Poland and Cape Town, South Africa. The server writes that the missions to be closed are in countries that are visited only by a low number of Czech tourists and that do not have intensive trade relations with the Czech Republic.