Prime Minister Fiala after a meeting in Downing Street: Czech Republic and United Kingdom to strengthen cooperation in nuclear energy
Prime Minister Petr Fiala met with his British counterpart Keir Starmer in Downing Street, London, on Monday, 14 July 2025. The Prime Ministers signed a memorandum confirming the common will of both countries to strengthen their nuclear energy partnership and discussed support of trade and investments, defence cooperation and further support for Ukraine. During his visit to London, Prime Minister Fiala also visited the MI6 (British Secret Intelligence Service) headquarters and met with his compatriots. He awarded the Karel Kramář medals to three prominent personalities from the compatriot community.
According to the Czech Prime Minister, the meeting in Downing Street confirmed that the relations between our countries are excellent and despite the United Kingdom having left the EU, we remain firm allies who share responsibility for stability and security in Europe. The Prime Ministers signed a Memorandum confirming the common will of both countries to strengthen their nuclear energy partnership.
"There is a great potential in nuclear power for the years to come as it experiences a renaissance. All the more I am pleased that ČEZ and Rolls-Royce will cooperate in the development and production of small modular reactors. This will be a great benefit for the Czech and British economy and jobs. We share a common opinion of energy with the UK and we have a very similar plan with our British colleagues on what the future of energy should look like. We consider a combination of large nuclear plants, small modular reactors and renewable sources of energy to be ideal. I believe that cooperation with the United Kingdom will help us ensure energy security and affordable energy for future generations, because this is a priority of our government," said Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
The Memorandum builds on the Joint Communication on Cooperation in Nuclear Energy of November 2023 and newly expands joint activities in the areas of project preparation and construction of nuclear power plants, education, research and development. Both countries want to cooperate in the field of large nuclear power plants as well as small modular reactors. The aim is also to support industrial and innovation partnerships and the involvement of both Czech and UK companies in projects in both countries. Thanks to the Memorandum, a unique training centre can be established in the Czech Republic. The UK Rolls-Royce SMR is also exploring the possibility of building a module factory in the Czech Republic.
The leaders also discussed strengthening of trade cooperation. "I went to the United Kingdom to promote trade, there are a number of opportunities for our companies. Exports to the United Kingdom have been growing in the long term. We met with Prime Minister Starmer and with Czech entrepreneurs who invest in the United Kingdom and I am convinced that there is great space for developing mutual cooperation," added the Czech Prime Minister. Further support for Ukraine and a common attitude toward Russia were other key topics of the meeting. Prime Minister Fiala also visited the of the MI6 (British Secret Intelligence Service) headquarters.
During his visit to London, the Prime Minister awarded the Karel Kramář Medal to three prominent personalities from the compatriot community: Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines for her lifelong efforts in strengthening the Czech-British relations, Jana Nahodilová for her long-standing support of the Czech community in the United Kingdom and Zuzana Jungmannová for her fundamental contribution to the development of Czech education abroad. The Karel Kramář Medal is the highest honour awarded by the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic with the value of a commemorative medal.
