By tradition, the first foreign trip of a new Czech or Slovak president is to the other part of former Czechoslovakia. Photo credit: Zuzana Čaputová, via Facebook.
Bratislava, March 13 (CTK) – Czech President Petr Pavel started his two-day visit to Slovakia, his first official foreign trip as president, with his Slovak counterpart Zuzana Caputova welcoming him in the courtyard of the presidential palace in Bratislava.
Both politicians then attended a parade of the presidential honour guard.
The ceremony included a traditional welcome with bread and salt and the military played the national anthems of both Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Pavel took his presidential oath last Thursday and is now keeping the tradition that the first foreign trip of a new Czech or Slovak president is to the other part of former Czechoslovakia.
Pavel won the runoff of the direct presidential election in late January. Caputova came to Prague to congratulate Pavel on his victory personally right after the election results were announced. At Pavel’s inauguration, Caputova said she was glad that a person who shares her values now heads the state that is closest to Slovakia.
During his visit to Slovakia, Pavel will also meet PM Eduard Heger and head of parliament Boris Kollar. He will pay tribute to the founders of Czechoslovakia, to the two victims of last year’s homophobic murder, and to the late journalist Jan Kuciak, who was murdered along with his girlfriend five years ago.
Pavel and Caputova will also participate in a public debate.
