The head of the Czech counterintelligence service, Michal Koudelka, received a top award from America’s CIA last month, Lidovky.cz reported on Thursday. Mr. Koudelka was presented with the George Tenet award, which recognises international cooperation, at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia in early March, the news site said.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš also attended the ceremony, which took place on the eve of a visit he made to the White House. Mr. Koudelka described the prize as the highest bestowed by the CIA.

Czech President Milos Zeman has twice refused to promote the head of the Security Information Service (known in Czech by the acronym BIS) to the rank of general and has been critical of the agency’s work.