US and Czech government officials on Tuesday signed a political document which could help secure visa-free travel for Czech citizens to the United States later this year, a spokesman for the Czech embassy here said.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and Czech Interior Minister Ivan Langer signed the memorandum of understanding, a document putting the Czech Republic on the road to inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP), spokesman Daniel Novy told AFP.
The Czech Republic has alarmed the European Union by breaking ranks with it in negotiating its own bilateral agreement with Washington.
"The US side expressed a hope that the Czech citizens will travel to the US visa-free in the fall of this year," said Novy, who accompanied Langer and Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek Tuesday morning at the start of a two-day visit to Washington.
"The parties will negotiate further in order to include the Czech Republic to be a member of the VWP," he said after Tuesday's signing, which he called "an important milestone."
He said the issue would be among the topics discussed by Topolanek when he meets on Wednesday morning with US President George W. Bush, who has supported waiving visa requirements for Czechs.
