Topolcianky Castle to Host Slovak-Czech Discussion Forum in June

Bratislava, March 30 (TASR) - A Slovak-Czech Topolcianky Discussion Forum, aimed at maintaining above-standard relations between Slovakia and the Czech Republic, will be held at Topolcianky Castle (Nitra region) on June 10, according to a Foreign Affairs Ministry document acknowledged by the government earlier this week. The forum will be dedicated to the historical legacy of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk and Milan Rastislav Stefanik. According to the ministry, the discussion forum project stems from a resolution adopted at the government's away-from-home session in Topolcianky last November. "After agreement with the Czech side, the Foreign Affairs Ministry proposed organising a joint discussion forum based on the legacy of the first Czechoslovak president T.G. Masaryk and Slovak diplomat M.R. Stefanik. Topolcianky Castle, which was the summer residence of the president of the Czechoslovak Republic between 1923-1953 and is a national cultural monument, was chosen as the venue," stated the ministry in its document. Historians and academics from both countries should be represented at the discussion forum. The discussion will focus on questions concerning whether and why the ideas of Czechoslovakism are still alive and the impact of the two statesmen's legacy on the above-standard level of relations between Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Accompanying events of the Topolcianky Forum will include separate exhibitions on Stefanik and Masaryk, a permanent exhibition dedicated to Masaryk on the premises of the Topolcianky Castle, a visit to the Topolcianky National Stud Farm, and a cultural programme. ko/df