Pellegrini Arrives in Prague, Meets Pavel at Philharmonic Concert (2)

Prague, 4 November (TASR-correspondent) - Slovak President Peter Pellegrini met with Czech President Petr Pavel on Tuesday evening at the Municipal House in Prague, where he attended a gala concert by the Kosice State Philharmonic Orchestra to mark the anniversaries of the births of former Czechoslovak President Tomas Garrigue Masaryk and Slovak politician and diplomat Milan Rastislav Stefanik, TASR's Prague correspondent reported on the same day based on information from the Slovak Presidential Office's communications department. In the Municipal House, Pellegrini is also due to meet ANO party leader Andrej Babis. According to Pellegrini, the meeting with Pavel confirmed the mutual interest in strengthening relations and cooperation between the two nations at regional, cross-border, academic and scientific levels. "Slovaks and Czechs are now building their own statehood in sovereign republics. However, we are now members of the joint European and North Atlantic community, which provides us with a favourable political, cultural and security framework for the development of our countries," stressed Pellegrini. "At the same time, the brotherhood between Slovaks and Czechs is a unique contribution to this community. It is our contribution to a stronger and prosperous Europe, built not only on firm values but also on friendly relations," stated Pellegrini. Before an audience of diplomats, government and parliament representatives, members of the academic and business communities, as well as other guests, Pavel noted that the concert served as a reminder of two men without whom independent Czechoslovakia would likely never have come into existence. He also recalled that in 2023, Milan Rastislav Stefanik was posthumously awarded the Czech Republic's highest honour – the Order of the White Lion. Pavel said that Tuesday evening was a celebration of the exceptional nature of Czech-Slovak ties, describing them as "relations between two countries that shared a common state for three-quarters of the last century, and between two nations united not only by understanding each other's language but also by shared history, joys and hardships". "People expect that relations between our countries will be as close as possible. And our duty, as politicians, is to create the best possible conditions for that. In fact, one such opportunity is this evening," said Pavel. The gala concert was held under the auspices of both presidents as a highlight of the Month of Czech-Slovak Cultural Mutuality, taking place at the Municipal House for the third time. The tradition commenced in 2023 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the formation of both Slovakia and the Czech Republic as independent countries. According to the Slovak Embassy in the Czech Republic, the programme of the concert reflects the cultural ties between the two countries, featuring a symphonic poem "V Tatrach" (In the Tatras) by Vitezslav Novak which was inspired by Slovakia's landscape, Burlesque for Violin and Orchestra by Slovak composer Eugen Suchon, and a symphonic poem Praga by Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk, all performed by Slovak violinist Dalibor Karvay and the philharmonic orchestra under the baton of Czech conductor Tomas Brauner. NOTE: This story has been extended to include paragraphs 6-8 jrg