#Česko #bezpecnost #izrael #diplomacie You may hear that he currently has the greatest influence on the Czech position towards foreign countries. He plays the role of Prime Minister Petr Fiala's right-hand man in international affairs, and his clear position often arouses controversy. Voxpot's guest is Tomáš Pojar, national security adviser to the government. He wants to see the Czech Republic firmly anchored in Western structures. According to him, it makes no sense to play the role of world peacemaker, and our country can't even do it. Also because of this, he thinks that the Czechs cannot contribute much to the solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and it makes no sense to raise false hopes in this direction or to overestimate their strength. Before joining the state service, Pojar led the humanitarian organization People in Need for ten years, in whose ranks he went to help in Chechnya or Bosnia. If he were 20 years old again today, he would not have tried to get to the bombed Gaza with humanitarian aid. According to him, aid and reconstruction there should be provided by the rich Arab countries, which also profit from the conflicts in the region by increasing the price of oil. According to him, a special role should be played by Egypt, which can let refugees from Gaza into the country, but does not do so. "If the most important Arab country behaves the same way as the Israelis, that probably says something and it's not just about the bad Israelis. Either it's about the evil Israelis and Egyptians, or there will be some rationale behind it, that they don't know how to deal with a terrorist organization, both sides are afraid of it and both sides certainly don't want to help it," Pojar claims, adding that for Egypt Hamas can represent an even greater risk than for Israel. Czechia in the world According to him, we are in a much better position in diplomacy than 20 years ago. Our business, diplomatic and economic power is also in better shape. We have to play our role in the world, primarily in the field of bilateral relations, which then also help the alliances of which we are members. "If, for example, we don't come to Africa, there won't be a vacuum, but a Russian, a Chinese, a Turk will come. They will do business there, they will determine the security situation there, the degree of freedom and economic competitiveness, and that is not our interest," he says, adding that the Czech Republic's interest is to be present in the world. For example, in order for our companies to make enough money there and for our companies to supply weapons there. The connection of the arms industry and politics is a logical thing for Tomáš Pojar. "A reasonable symbiosis between the state and business is beneficial for both parties, you can open some doors for that business, but at the same time that business can open doors for you," he mentions, noting that arms companies usually do business with the state and may have better contacts than embassies. "I myself use the presence of the arms business in countries for negotiations, but it can also be energy or other business. In Azerbaijan, I used the card of the Czech arms industry. However, we cannot think that the Czech Republic will be a game changer, but sometimes we can change some things," he assesses. You can watch the entire interview on our YouTube channel or in podcast applications. Opening photo: Eliška Bervidová