On Tuesday, June 22, 2021, Czech President Petr Pavel began an official two-day visit to Prague, starting with a visit to the Cimburkova Elementary School in Žižkov. Pavel has planned meetings with city leaders, debates on education and housing issues, and a visit to the construction site of the newly built metro line D.
The visit to Prague is part of Pavel’s travels throughout the region. After his inauguration, he visited the Moravian-Silesian and Liberec regions and the Vysočina regions. Before taking office, Pavel also visited the Ústí and Karlovy Vary regions.
The two-day visit to the capital is unique because Pavel’s predecessor, Miloš Zeman, who also traveled to the regions, never officially visited the capital as head of state.
On Tuesday, after meeting with students, Pavel paid his respects to the victims of communism at the memorial on Újezd. After meeting with Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS), he will discuss education issues, which have resonated especially due to recent problems with entrance examinations for high schools. The Tuesday program will conclude with the ceremonial opening of the T. G. Masaryk Presidential Library at the Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Libeň.
The presidential couple will visit the Center for Architecture and Urban Planning (CAMP) on Wednesday. Pavel will participate in a debate on housing affordability organized by the Institute for Planning and Development of the City of Prague (IPR). The President will also visit the D line metro construction site and meet with clients of the low-threshold community center Jahoda in Černý Most in the afternoon.