State visit to Luxembourg by the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, and his wife Eva Pavlová - 1st day

Thursday 29 February 2024

The President of the Czech Republic and his wife are officially welcomed by TRH the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess on the forecourt of the Grand Ducal Palace. After the military honours, the playing of the national anthems, the troop review, the presentation of the respective authorities and delegations and an exchange of gifts, Petr Pavel and Eva Pavlová are received for a meeting with the Grand Ducal couple at the palace.

The Head of State of the Czech Republic, accompanied by his wife, then deposit a wreath of flowers at the Luxembourg National Solidarity Monument, in the presence of Prime Minister Luc Frieden, Minister of Defence Yuriko Backes and the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Steve Thull. As they leave the chapel, Petr Pavel and Eva Pavlová greet flag bearers, members of the Committee for the Remembrance of the Second World War and representatives of patriotic movements and associations.

Back at the Grand Ducal Palace, the Czech Head of State is granted audience with the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Claude Wiseler, Prime Minister Luc Frieden and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Xavier Bettel.

Petr Pavel and Eva Pavlová then join the grand-ducal couple at the palace for a private lunch to continue their talks.

In the early afternoon, the Czech presidential couple and TRH the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess are welcomed to the Town Hall by Mayor Lydie Polfer for an academic session, in the presence of the College of Aldermen and the Municipal Council. The musical accompaniment is provided by a group of musicians from the Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg.

The programme continues with the laying of a wreath in Jan Palach Square by the President of the Czech Republic and HRH the Grand Duke, in the presence of the Mayor of the City of Luxembourg, Lydie Polfer. Jan Palach Square was created to commemorate the sacrifice of the Czech student, born on 11 August 1948 in Prague, who set himself on fire on Wenceslas Square in Prague on 16 January 1969, as a symbolic act of resistance to the invasion by Warsaw Pact forces.

The Czech and Luxembourg heads of state then place a wreath at the tomb of John the Blind, and visit the nave of the cathedral, in the presence of HRH the Grand Duchess and Eva Pavlová. In 1946, six centuries after his death, the remains of John I, King of Bohemia and Count of Luxembourg, a key figure in linking the history of Luxembourg with that of the Czech Republic, were placed in the crypt of "Notre-Dame de Luxembourg" cathedral, his third tomb.

At the end of the afternoon, the Presidential couple and the Grand Ducal couple proceed to the Château de Betzdorf, the headquarters of SES, where they are welcomed by the Minister of Defence, Yuriko Backes, the Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister for Media and Connectivity, Elisabeth Margue, and representatives of SES. After a brief presentation of the company's activities and explanations of SES's history and strategic vision, as well as relations with the Czech Republic, the Presidential couple and the Grand Ducal couple visit the satellite control centre. 

The first day of the State visit ends with a gala dinner hosted by THR the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess at the Grand Ducal Palace in honour of the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, and his wife Eva Pavlová, in the presence of HRH the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess.

Press release by  the Information and Press Service  (SIP )