An official greeting ceremony was held in Prague Castle at the beginning of Vladimir Putin's official visit to the Czech Republic.
Vladimir Putin and Vaclav Klaus then had a conversation, after which Russian-Czech talks continued with members of the two countries' delegations.
Vladimir Putin took the Czech President's offer to conduct high-level talks in Russian as a special sign of respect. The Russian head of state also thanked Vaclav Klaus for his personal contribution to developing Russian-Czech ties, and noted that over the last few years the political, trade and economic contacts between the two countries have considerably increased.
Following the Russian-Czech talks three agreements were signed in the presence of the Russian and Czech presidents: Memorandum on Exchanging Information and Cooperation in Establishing and Operating Special Economic Zones in the Russian Federation and Industrial Zones in the Czech Republic; Memorandum on Prospective Cooperation between the Ministry of Emergencies of the Russian Federation and the Interior Ministry of the Czech Republic in Disaster Relief, Fire Safety and Protecting the Civil Population; Agreement between the Russian Vnesheconombank and the Czech Export Bank on Providing Credit for Czech Exports of Cars and Equipment to the Russian Federation.
Following their talks Vladimir Putin and Vaclav Klaus held a joint press conference and answered journalists' questions.
Afterwards Vladimir Putin and Vaclav Klaus continued their conversation at an official dinner given on behalf of the President of the Czech Republic.
Russian and Czech leaders support further developing Russian-Czech contacts based on the rich history of partnership ties between their countries and the dynamic way that these ties are already developing today.