Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, met with Jozef Síkela, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, to discuss the importance of international collaboration on global energy security and the transition to net zero. Their discussion focused on how Europe, the Czech Republic and Canada can strengthen their cooperation to ensure a more resilient and sustainable energy policy, increase critical mineral supply chains and advance the fight against climate change through clean technology and energy. The Ministers also signalled their desire to work together on topics of common interest, including hydrogen and critical minerals.
Canada and the Czech Republic have a long-standing friendship and close partnership, and the Ministers agreed to continue strengthening Czech-Canadian relations and working together to enhance energy security and accelerate the global energy transition. To these ends, they affirmed their shared interest in the following areas:
Hydrogen, in particular their mutual understanding of the key role of hydrogen in future energy needs, especially with respect to hydrogen produced from renewable resources;
The import and export of hydrogen, taking into account Canadian industry's plans to export hydrogen and the Czech Republic´s intention to import hydrogen to satisfy its energy needs with low-carbon sources; and
Critical minerals and their supply chain, as well as clean technologies to make mining more sustainable.
