TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Legislative Yuan Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) said Tuesday (July 12) he will visit the Czech Republic next week.

The senior politician announced the news during a meeting with Prague’s envoy to Taiwan, Patrick Rumlar, who will soon end a four-year stint in Taipei to take over as head of the Asia-Pacific affairs department in his country’s foreign ministry.

You thanked Rumlar for helping to arrange his first-ever trip to the Czech Republic and Senate President Milos Vystrcil for inviting him. The envoy also played a crucial role in organizing Vystrcil’s visit to Taiwan in 2020, the highest-level political exchange between the two countries, You said.

He expressed interest in finding out what kind of difficulties the Central European nation had encountered on its road from communist oppression to democracy, CNA reported. The Czech Republic would be able to provide lessons in how to improve the democratic education of citizens, You said.

Taiwan’s top legislator also gave a positive response to Rumlar’s proposal of direct air links between the two countries, saying he would assist the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in pushing for the measure.