Year 2005

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President Ivan Gašparovič meeting the Ukrainian President

February 22, 2005

As part of his visit to Brussels to attend the summit meeting of the North Atlantic Council, President Ivan Gašparovič met the Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. The two heads of state dealt with the future development of bilateral co-operation between Slovakia and Ukraine following a changeover in the political climate in the country we are bordering in the East.
Talking to his partner, President Gašparovič promised Slovakia’s assistance during the forthcoming transformation of Ukraine in the Euroatlantic, social as well as economic areas. On this account Viktor Yushchenko warned that the route Ukraine has just taken is going to be difficult and intricate.
Yushchenko thanked President Gašparovič for considerable neighborly help in the form of Slovak monitors operating during the recent Presidential election in Ukraine, but also for the support shown by Slovakia to Ukraine’s heading for the Euroatlantic institutions.
The Ukrainian President also used this meeting with Gašparovič to open the issue of reevaluating the reciprocal visa duty between the two countries. In Yushchenko’s view, Slovakia and Ukraine could follow the Polish model. Under this model, visa duty for Polish has been cancelled completely and citizens of Ukraine have been enabled to get their visas free of charge.
In response to that, the Slovak President stated that he would report this intention of the Ukrainian party to the Cabinet in Bratislava. President Gašparovič is convinced that frontier traffic and visa duties between Slovakia and Ukraine should be revised.
At the Brussels meeting, Gašparovič offered Yushchenko an opportunity for developing business cooperation through co-investment, mainly in the field of industry.
Thereat Yushchenko suggested that the cooperation between our countries advances from its currently formal to a more concrete form. „If Slovakia and other partners abide by Ukraine’s side, my country will definitely manage“ – noted Yushchenko . President of the SR I. Gašparovič responded by saying – „We want to help each other. If Ukraine makes it, Slovakia will make it as well!„

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