Czech Republic wants to build a new embassy in Addis Ababa by 2025

Prague - Czech diplomacy wants to build a new embassy in Ethiopian Addis Ababa by 2025. The embassy buildings and apartments for diplomats will be constructed on land that Czechia owns but has not yet utilized, said Zuzana Štíchová, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to a query from ČTK. The architectural solution for the embassy will emerge from a student competition organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Department of Architecture of the Czech Technical University (ČVUT). The public can view the 25 finalists of the competition at an exhibition, which opened today at Prague's Invalidovna; the winner will be chosen by a jury on October 1.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to prepare the project documentation and build the new embassy between 2020 and 2025. "The new embassy complex will be built on land that the former Czechoslovak Socialist Republic purchased in 1974 for the construction of a new embassy. However, this construction never took place, and the land is still empty," Štíchová stated.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with ČVUT, announced an architectural competition for the embassy project for students from around the world. A total of 474 students from 38 countries submitted 281 projects. The jury selected 25 finalists from 12 countries, including eight Czech projects, four Israeli, and two each from Slovakia, Poland, and Germany. The finalist projects will be on display from today until September 1 at Invalidovna in an exhibition titled Architecture.

The winner of the competition will receive a prize of 2000 euros (51,600 crowns), and the second and third designs will also receive financial rewards. Additionally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs committed in the competition's conditions that the name of the author of the winning design will be displayed on the embassy building that will be constructed according to the project.

The new embassy complex will be built on a plot of 13,300 square meters. According to the competition conditions, the complex should include the embassy's official building, a building for the consular and visa section, the ambassador's residence, apartments for diplomats, and a building for local embassy staff. Garages and space for leisure activities for employees will also be included on the plot.

Czechia already has an embassy in Addis Ababa. The local diplomats are responsible not only for Ethiopia but also represent Czech interests in Djibouti, the Comoros, the Seychelles, Somalia, and South Sudan. The ambassador in Ethiopia is also the permanent representative of Czechia to the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa.