Wombats, expats and kangaroo goulash: President Pavel’s historic visit to Australia and New Zealand underway
Petr Pavel is currently exploring the southern hemisphere, as the Czech president continues his two-week visit to Australia and New Zealand. Together with First Lady Eva Pavlová, the president is working through a full programme of meetings focused on trade, diplomacy and defence, as well as some more relaxed cultural experiences.
After almost thirty years, a Czech president touched down in Australia on November 24th, to begin a two-week programme of appointments in Australia and New Zealand. The last president to visit was Václav Havel in March 1995.
On the more serious side of things, President Pavel’s visit to Australia involved meetings with senior Australian officials, such as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Governor-General Sam Mostyn and the governors of the states of New South Wales and South Australia. The president also gave a talk at the Lowy Institute, Australia's leading think tank, dedicated to issues of foreign policy, security and economics. Ahead of the meetings with the Australian prime minister and governor-general, the president emphasised the political commonalities between Australia and Czechia, despite their geographical distance.
"We often face the same problems – security, social, economic. You might be surprised by how many Australian citizens have the same concerns as us."
The president's top priorities while in Australia are the strengthening of democracies against the spreading influence of authoritarianism, cybersecurity, and trade. As well as being an economic and political power globally, Australia is the thirty-eighth most important export partner of Czechia, and a source of tourism for the country.
The presidential programme also included time with Australia’s community of Czech expats and their descendants. The country has the fifth highest number of Czechs abroad, numbering at around 35,000, and President Pavel paid a visit to the Czechoslovak Country Club in Adelaide shortly after arriving, where he was served a Pilsner beer and a local speciality: goulash with kangaroo meat. The country club also operates a Czech-language primary school, where the pupils got to pose their questions to a president.
In a post on the platform X, President Pavel praised the country club for passing on knowledge of Czech culture and language to the next generation, saying “Czechia does not forget you, and I am glad that you do not forget it”.
First Lady Pavlová visited the Wombat Rescue organisation in Canberra, which has cooperated with Prague Zoo and the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Australia to create new enclosures for rescued wombats. Also in Canberra, President Pavel attended the opening of the brand new building of that very embassy, which the president hopes will “be not just an office for diplomats, but above all a centre for Czech-Australian cooperation and partnership”.
On Saturday 30th, the couple flew to New Zealand for the second leg of the trip. The president was given a pōwhiri, a traditional Maori welcome, and then visited the small settlement of Puhoi, located about sixty kilometres north of Auckland. The place has a strong Czech connection, having been settled in 1863 by immigrants from the Plzeň region of Bohemia. Very appropriately for Petr Pavel, the Puhoi village church is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul.
The whole trip will end on December 5th in Wellington, where the president and first lady will celebrate St. Nicholas Day with gifts for children from Czech or Czech-New Zealand families.
