Final Word from Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Andrej Babiš's visit to Kazakhstan today will be the second by a Czech PM in three years. After meeting on April 24, 2023, with Kazakh Pres. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and PM Alikhan Smailov, Petr Fiala said that the entire EU is interested in developing closer relations with Central Asia and that the Czech-Kazakh relationship is a pillar of this cooperation. Given his country's geographical and geopolitical position, Tokayev must be a skilled maneuverer. Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world and is wedged between Russia and China. The U.S. also has designs on it. Tokayev met with Donald Trump at the White House on Nov. 6 of last year, which led to a "new era" in bilateral relations and to "path-breaking commercial deals." Yet Tokayev has also spoken of "destructive globalist forces" and said that "sovereignty cannot be treated as an inconvenience." More than just business deals, what Tokayev can perhaps offer to Babiš today is advice on how to tiptoe in the shadows of the world's giants. [ Czech Republic prime minister president ANO ODS United States ]
Glossary of difficult words
camaraderie - mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time together;
landlocked - (of a country or region) almost or entirely surrounded by land;
wedged - tightly packed or squeezed into a narrow space between two things;
to have designs (on someone or something) - to aim to obtain (something), typically in an underhanded way.