House Chair Rasi Off to Prague for First Official Foreign Trip

Bratislava, May 7 (TASR) - Parliamentary Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) left for Prague on Wednesday morning for his first official trip abroad. He'll be received at Prague Castle by Czech President Petr Pavel and will also hold talks with Czech Premier Petr Fiala. As part of his visit to the Czech Republic, Rasi will also meet Chamber of Deputies Speaker Marketa Pekarova Adamova and Senate Chair Milos Vystrcil. "I'm personally very interested in preserving the tradition by which the House chair's first foreign trip is to the Czech Republic," emphasised Rasi. High on the agenda of the talks with the most senior representatives of the Czech Republic will be economic matters, cross-border cooperation, energy, transport and defence. Rasi will also discuss further regional cooperation between Slovakia and the Czech Republic within international groupings, namely the Visegrad Four (V4: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) and the Austerlitz Format (S3: Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia). "The uniqueness of the relations between our countries, which stems from intensive links at all levels, can't be ignored. I have a sincere interest in deepening these relations and political dialogue, which will be demonstrated by my visit to the Czech Republic tomorrow," said Rasi. The House chair's official visit to Prague will begin with the laying of a wreath at the National Monument at Vitkov. He will also lay a wreath at the statue of Milan Rastislav Stefanik on Petrin Hill to mark the recent 106th anniversary of his death. ko