Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič Participates in a Joint Dinner Attended by US President Barack Obama at the 17th Summit of Presidents of Central European Countries

Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič attended a joint dinner served on the occasion of the 17th Summit of Presidents of Central European countries in Warsaw, with US President Barack Obama as a special guest. Attending presidents informally discussed with the US President the possibilities of sharing the Central Europe’s experience in the transition process with countries of the Arab world, as well as some topical global issues.

President Ivan Gašparovič pointed out differences in the situations in various Arab world countries. The Slovak President noted that “if we want to be sympathetic to the countries of North Africa and the Near East, let’s encourage economic cooperation and abolish customs and trade barriers.” Ivan Gašparovič also paid detailed attention to the identification of the possibilities of effective assistance to the countries of North Africa and the Near East in his speech delivered at a plenary session of the 17th Summit of Presidents of Central European countries.

At the joint dinner, the European Presidents also discussed their experience with the post-1989 transition of their countries to democracy, and how the Central European experience may serve as an inspiration for other regions around the world.

After the informal dinner, the Slovak President assessed the negotiations held during the summit as very reasonable and open: „We spoke about imminent challenges faced now both at the Central European level and world-wide. We discussed what to do next with respect to African countries that are now in trouble and how to be most responsive to their problems. The solidarity in the form of financial assistance often turns against us. African countries receive large volumes of financial support but we do not even know sometimes to whom this financial support actually goes.”

To that end, the Slovak President believes a change is necessary in the approach to solidarity. “We should try to help these countries by enabling them to trade without barriers, to export their goods to our countries; let’s remove some customs and trade barriers. It is much more reasonable,” President Ivan Gašparovič said.