New Czech prime minister chooses to visit Slovakia first

The newly-appointed Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) will pay his first foreign trip to Slovakia, following an established tradition, said Sobotka after his appointment on Friday. Czech senior elected officials mostly choose Slovakia as their first foreign trip destination to make it clear how they esteem the relation between the two countries of former Czechoslovakia. Sobotka's former Prime Minister Petr Necas (Civic Democratic Party, ODS) also selected Slovakia as his first foreign trip destination, and also did Czech President Milos Zeman when he was elected in January 2013. Slovak politicians behave in the same way. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico visited Prague upon his election in 2012. Czech and Slovak representatives have called the relations exceptional, excellent and unusual.