The Hungarian government is set to strengthen cultural links with countries in southern Europe, with the city of Pécs in south-western Hungary to play a crucial role.
This development forms part of the government’s broad new cultural policy aim of “opening to the south”. Mayor Zsolt Páva held a press conference last week together with Secretary of State for Culture, Péter Hoppál, in which they announced a recent visit to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to discuss possible cooperation with local leaders.
Mr Hoppál expressed hope that tourists coming to the city from Bosnia and Herzegovina would help to boost Pécs’s economic development. Mr Páva also reported that he had visited the Serbian city of Novi Sad earlier in the week and discussed opportunities for cultural exchange.
Pécs began to bolster its cultural relations with countries in southern Europe when it was designated European Capital of Culture in 2010, giving the city a strong position to play a pivotal role in the process of “opening to the south”.
