Huawei and the Czech Republic Eye Wider Cooperation on Smart Governments and Cities

[Shanghai, November 23, 2015] Today, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka visited Huawei's Shanghai Research Center during his state visit to China. During the visit, he met with Wang Shengli, Senior Vice President and board member of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., and Lu Yong, President of Huawei's CEE & Nordic European Region. The two parties discussed at length the prospect of strengthening cooperation between Huawei and the Czech Republic on ICT.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka led a delegation to visit Huawei's Shanghai Research Center.

At the research center, Prime Minister Sobotka was briefed on Huawei's latest business developments, leading mobile broadband technology and smartphones, as well as the company's R&D efforts on home devices.

The prime minister said, "Huawei is a company that focuses on R&D and technological innovations. I'm very happy to visit Huawei. As a country dependent on industry, the Czech Republic is now facing a huge challenge in how to widely apply advanced ICT technology to achieve industrial automation. Our government places a strong emphasis on technology education, and we have witnessed Huawei's cooperation with two Czech universities on its Seeds for the Future program as well as on other joint projects. Huawei's efforts are very commendable."

While visiting Huawei's enterprise eLTE application showroom, Sobotka commented, "Huawei's smart city and government solutions are very impressive and they are exactly what our country needs. I believe there is huge potential for cooperation in this regard, and I look forward to it."

Huawei SVP Wang Shengli said, "Seeing the new Czech government's focus on economic development, we are very confident in the country's economic prospects. To help the Czech Republic address its needs, we are happy to communicate and cooperate with the country, share our experience in the ICT domain, and become an enabler for a 'Digital Czech Republic'. By operating locally, Huawei is living up to its commitment as a responsible corporate citizen and contributing to Czech economic development."

Alongside Wang Shengli and Ma Keqing, the Chinese ambassador to the Czech Republic, Sobotka witnessed Huawei signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperation with Czech Technical University and VSB-Technical University of Ostrava. The MOUs were signed by Boris Šimák, Professor at the Electrical Engineering of Czech Technical University in Prague; Jaromir Gottvald, Vice President of VSB-Technical University of Ostrava; and Radoslaw Kedzia, General Manager of Huawei's Czech Subsidiary.

Huawei first entered the Czech market in 2003. After many years of effort, in 2014 Huawei's local sales revenue and local procurement reached US$126 million and US$16 million, respectively. Currently, Huawei has 338 employees in the country, 91% of whom are local hires.

Huawei's advanced ICT technology is currently used by three tier-1 Czech operators and Huawei has gradually become a strategic partner of local tier-1 operators. Huawei's smartphones have become a preferred brand of the Czech people and its enterprise products have been utilized by banks, schools, and other institutions in the public sector. Apart from that, Huawei continues to provide the Czech people with advanced communications technologies and services. The company attaches great importance to training communications professionals as one of its corporate social responsibilities. The company has made continuous efforts to implement its scholarship and Seeds for the Future programs in well-known local universities. These efforts have been widely recognized by local governments, customers, and the general public. In 2013 and 2014, Huawei received the Best Employer and Most Welcomed Consumer Brand awards in the Czech Republic.