Ladies and gentlemen, let me express also in this way my pleasure and honour to be member, on behalf of the Ministry for Regional Development (MfRD), of the Government delegation headed by Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Mr. Jan Hamáček that have been offi cially invited to an important event - the Third China (Shanghai) International Technology Fair (CSITF). I am even more pleased by that the Czech Republic was selected the general foreign partner and exhibitor for the fi rst time in the history of this fair. I accepted the invitation especially to support mutual cooperation with the People‘s Republic of China in the areas of tourism and regional policy, in particular during the „Czech Days in Shanghai“, which had been prepared with assistance of the MfRD and our agency CzechTourism. Many interesting shows have been prepared to be presented during the Czech Days in Shanghai at the fair. An exhibition of Czech artists‘ works entitled „Art from Heart“ will be opened under my auspices in the Power Station of Art in Shanghai. Presented will be works by Czech artists, most of which were not presented in China ever before, and I am looking forward - together with you - to see this unique show. Our new fair stand will also present for the fi rst time in Asia the Czech Republic as a „Land of Stories“; the stories of historical towns, unique architecture and pitoresque Central European landscape. Our country, however, is also a land of your stories, of stories of you - our honourable guests invited to experience unprecedented moments, see sights never seen before, and fi nd strong emotions. Our exhibition will introduce the Czech Republic also through our typical regional products and brands that have established our country‘s image all over the world. In this era of modern technologies we have converted the „Czech Days in Shanghai“ into an attractive modern application, which can be downloaded for free by everyone. The purpose of all events during the „Czech Days“, in which the MfRD will participate, is to present the Czech Republic as an attractive destination for Chinese tourists and invoke their interest and expectations of a visit to our beautiful and romantic country. Dear delegates and guests, building the Czech Republic‘s brand as a high-quality and interesting destination and motivating Chinese tourists to visit our country is fi rst and foremost the main purpose of my mission. Together with my delegation of experts in tourism I believe we will improve our mutual relations and follow up the promising cooperation with China not only in tourism. In line with their scopes of competence most ministries have defi ned their tasks in accordance with the Czech Government‘s priority - intensify the development of cooperation with China in all directions. In the area of tourism the Ministry for Regional Development cooperates with our Chinese colleagues through the Government agency CNTA, with whom a Memorandum of Cooperation in Tourism was signed in 2014. In the Memorandum we have defi ned together the activities to provide for satisfaction of tourists from both our countries. I wish success to the CSITF and „Czech Days in Shanghai“ and I hope the Czech Days will be popular also in the future and become a tradition for the years to come.