 | This morning the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, was on an official visit to the Slovak Republic. The President of the Slovak Republic, Ivan Gašparovič and the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, addressed the bilateral relations between the two countries, the future of the European Union as a global actor and the topic international issues. The President Dr Danilo Türk underlined that his visit symbolises "a deep friendship between our countries and nations and a promising perspective for our future cooperation." Dr Danilo Türk and Mr Ivan Gašparovič agreed that the two countries have excellent mutual relations, a common history of countries that underwent the economic transition successfully and can anticipate an even better common future within the European Union.
In the area of economic relations, the two countries reached a very high level in economic trade and currently, the countries plan to intensify cooperation in the area of investments, agreed the Slovenian and the Slovak presidents. In relation to this topic, Dr Danilo Türk mentioned a possibility of cooperation in the area of logistics and transport and especially highlighted the role of the port of Koper in its function as a transit port for transport of Slovak goods. The two Presidents also discussed development of cultural cooperation, not only with a vision of a better mutual knowledge but also through creation of a common cultural platform in the European Union as a whole. Dr Danilo Türk and Mr Ivan Gašparovič also exchanged views on the future challenges to the European Union and stressed the importance of pursuing further EU institutional reform outlined in the Lisbon Treaty. The two statesmen also discussed the cooperation between the two countries within the framework of multilateral institutions, Slovenia’s experience during its Presidency of the EU Council and the recent Slovakia's presidency of the United Nation Security Council. The Slovenian and the Slovak presidents also touched on the topical international issues. They devoted most of their time to the situation in the Western Balkans and although their views on the issue of Kosovo's status somewhat differed they supported a tolerant and patient approach to it to continue the dialogue on issue within the international community.
In continuation of his visit, Dr Danilo Türk was received by the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Mr Robert Fico. The visit ended with a gala dinner in honour of President Turk and his wife, hosted by the President of the Slovak Republic and his wife. |