The Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Richard Raši will travel on an official visit to the Czech Republic on Tuesday (June 16), with the program focused on a bilateral meeting with Speaker of the Czech Chamber of Deputies Tomio Okamura. The visit aims to present priorities of Slovakia’s upcoming V4 presidency, strengthen inter-parliamentary dialogue, and confirm the close ties between the two countries, culminating in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding establishing the “Czecho-Slovak Mutuality Award.”
“We are going to Prague with a clear mandate to protect and develop our economic, strategic, and cultural interests. We want to coordinate with our Czech partners at EU level to promote effective solutions to reduce energy prices and to revise the ETS2 emissions trading system, which would burden our industry and households,” Raši said. He added that both sides will also honor shared history by laying wreaths at the National Memorial on Vítkov Hill and paying tribute at the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius to heroes of the Czechoslovak resistance in World War II, especially Slovaks Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš.
The main point of the visit will be a joint meeting of the Slovak and Czech parliamentary delegations, followed by the formal signing of the memorandum. The new award, previously announced during a meeting at Veľká Javorina in March, will annually recognize individuals who have significantly contributed to the development of relations between Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Raši emphasized the continuity and exceptional nature of bilateral relations, saying: “I am very pleased that meetings with Mr. Speaker Okamura bring concrete results. By establishing the Czecho-Slovak Mutuality Award, we are sending a clear signal of the exceptional nature of our relations even after the split of the common state. Although we are two sovereign countries, we remain the closest partners historically, culturally, and humanly.”
The speakers will also discuss energy sovereignty, nuclear energy, coordination in implementing artificial intelligence legislation, and cooperation in the automotive industry with an emphasis on technological neutrality. Raši added that relations have recently returned to a high standard and enable deeper cooperation within the V4 group, including plans for student parliamentary internships and the creation of a Czech model parliament inspired by Slovakia.
Source: TASR
