Hungary to boost cultural ties with South Europe

Budapest, February 5 (MTI) – The government wants to boost cultural relations with countries in the Western Balkans and the city of Pécs will play a central role in this effort, Peter Hoppal, the human resources ministry’s state secretary, said on Friday.

Pécs already began building cultural relations with countries in southern Europe as a European capital of culture in 2010 and now the government aims to enhance the city’s role in this endeavour, Mayor Zsolt Páva told a press conference held jointly with Hoppal in Pecs.

Hoppal said that he paid a visit with Páva to Sarajevo last week to discuss cooperation with local leaders under the government’s new cultural policy goal of “opening to the south”.

He expressed hope that tourists arriving from Bosnia-Herzegovina will contribute to boosting Pécs’s economic development.

Pava said he had visited the Serbian city Novi Sad (újvidék) earlier this week and, in the spirit of “opening to the south”, agreed with local leaders about an exchange of cultural programmes.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters