Saturday 18 December 2021, Prime Minister Petr Fiala introduced to office the new Defence Minister, Ms. Jana Černochová, who replaced Mr. Lubomír Metnar as the most senior leader of the Defence Department.
Ms. Jana Černochová was welcomed by the outgoing Minister, Lubomír Metnar, in front of the MoD main building. Their first steps led to the Minister’s Office and a brief familiarisation and introduction of senior MoD and Czech Armed Forces officials followed.
Prime Minister Fiala said in a press conference the new Minister was in an excellent position to steer the important Ministry on the best standards: “You would hardly find anybody with more intense and more vigorous dedication to the military than Jana Černochová.”
According to the Prime Minister, the Czech Republic regards defence as critical, and his Government is therefore ready, even in the difficult economic situation, to uphold the 2 percent GDP commitment by 2025. “We are doing it not just because we have committed to do so and because we want to a good NATO Ally, but indeed because it is important for our defence,“ PM Fiala underscored. He also alerted we were not living in “a completely safe time” and that it was in the Czech Republic’s interest to have high quality armed forces and a robust defence policy to include a sound membership in NATO.
Opted for the MoD
The new Minister thanked her predecessor, Lubomír Metnar, for an excellent coop-eration and assured the public of the continuity her tenure would display. Whereas some of the previous Defence Ministers observed this challenging Ministry had been left for them, it was the other way round for Jana Černochová: “I selected the MoD and had a sustained effort to prepare for the agenda,” the Minister said.
Minister Černochová said her high priority was an accelerated modernisation of the Czech Armed Forces. “We need to go on and have a clear concept and direction. Supporting domestic defence industry is and will be important,“ the Minister under-lined.
Minister Jana Černochová also wants to focus on high quality training of service personnel, recruitment and support of the Active Reserve Component. It is also important to continue deploying Czech Armed Forces service personnel for foreign operations. In conclusion, the new Minister emphasised on the Czech Republic’s membership in NATO: “We are anchored in NATO and we seek to remain a reliable and strong Ally. That is what our whole Government supports.“
Read also
