Mongolian President to arrive in Prague by train

Zeman will welcome President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj in person at Prague’s main train station

Prague, Jan 14 (ČTK) — Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj will arrive in Prague from Berlin by train on Sunday, and he will meet supreme officials, including his Czech counterpart, Miloš Zeman, during a three-day visit, according to information obtained by the Czech News Agency.

Since Elbegdorj will take a train to Prague, the welcome ceremony will be held at the main station, Zeman's spokesman Jiří Ovčáček said.

A red carpet, both countries' flags and the Prague Castle honorary unit will be prepared for the ceremony.

The official part of the visit starts Monday. Elbegdorj will be welcomed with military honors at the first courtyard of Prague Castle, the presidential seat, before his private meeting with Zeman. A press conference will follow.

On Monday afternoon, Elbegdorj is to meet the chairmen of the lower and upper houses of parliament, Jan Hamáček and Milan Štěch (both Social Democrats, ČSSD), respectively, their assistants told the Czech News Agency.

"Possible topics of the talks might be the Czech firms' participation in state contracts in Mongolia and cooperation in the use of drinking water sources," said Eva Davidová, from the Senate's press section.

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (ČSSD) is also to talk to Elbegdorj, but their meeting has not been officially confirmed yet.

Elbegdorj will stay in the Czech Republic until Tuesday when he is to visit Charles University (UK) in Prague.

Petr Podzimek, from the UK press section, said Elbegdorj would meet UK rector Tomáš Zima.

"They will primarily talk about bilateral cooperation between UK and Mongolian educational institutions, as well as the development of Mongolian studies at UK," Podzimek told CTK.

UK spokesman Václav Hájek said an informal meeting with some 30 students of Mongolian studies was also planned.

Mongolian studies in the Czech Republic have a good reputation abroad, and even Croats, Poles and Slovaks study the program at UK, its representatives say.

"Our renowned Mongolian studies scholars have succeeded in creating a study center at a high professional level in the past 20 years thanks to international cooperation. Textbooks of the standard and colloquial language as well as of the classical script are being used by students all over the world because of their high quality," the university says.

Source:http://www.praguepost.com/