New Czech President Zeman vows to back business on foreign trips

Zeman said it was the joint task of the international community to combat terrorism.

States should respect one another and not interfere in internal affairs of other countries, he added.

At the close of his speech, Zeman said he would take rather big teams of Czech businesspeople to the countries he would visit abroad.

"I can assure you that these will be only successful businesspeople, not those close to bankruptcy," he added.

Zeman spoke similarly before he was elected.

He told CTK in January that he would like to support Czech export by travelling to the dynamic economies of China, Russia, India and Brazil.

At the beginning of his speech, Zeman thanked the ambassadors for their previous work.

Zeman recalled that he had already had informal meetings with some of them before he was elected and inaugurated.

Vatican ambassador Giuseppe Leanza greeted Zeman on behalf of foreign diplomats.

"God bless you, God bless the Czech Republic," Leanza said.

Leftist candidate Zeman was inaugurated for his five-year term in office on Friday. He replaced conservative former president Vaclav Klaus (2003-2013).

Author: ČTK
www.ctk.cz