Pellegrini and Pavel to Deliver Joint Lectures at Universities As of Next Year

Prague, September 19 (TASR-correspondent) - Slovak and Czech Presidents, Peter Pellegrini and Petr Pavel (respectively) plan to deliver joint lectures at Czech and Slovak universities as of next year, TASR has learnt from Czech President's Office foreign department head Jaroslav Zajicek. The goal is to show young people the importance of the above-standard relationship between the Czech Republic and Slovakia, stated Zajicek. According to him, the idea of joint lectures and debates arose during Pellegrini's visit to the Czech Republic in late June. "When the presidents discussed possibilities for interaction at their level that would have an impact on young people, the idea crystallised that they could organise joint lectures on both sides of the border," he said. The presidents want to talk to young people about the future, current challenges and possibilities to deepen cooperation. They should start delivering lectures next year. According to Zajicek, the details should be agreed upon during their upcoming meetings. The two presidents will pay a working trip to the USA next week and they will also meet at the Visegrad Four (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary) summit in Poland shortly afterwards. Zajicek didn't specify what universities the presidents will choose to deliver lectures there. At the moment it is not yet clear how many lectures the heads of state will deliver in total, either. Matus David of the Slovak Embassy in Prague added that it will be only one of the joint activities that the presidents want to do to maintain above-standard Slovak-Czech relations. It is especially important in the case of the young generation, as it no longer lives with the sentiment of a common state, stated David. ko/mcs