Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič visited China from 1 to 7 September 2010. In Shanghai, he visited the Huawei telecom company, one of the leading Chinese investors active in the Slovak market.

Ivan Gašparovič was keen to know whether the company intended to undertake science and research activities in Slovakia, for instance in cooperation with the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Mr. Ken Hu confirmed interest in such cooperation with several technical universities in Slovakia, noting that the Slovak branch Huawei Technologies, operating on our market since 2006, was also interested in hiring Slovak experts for the company’s international branches.

The Slovak President also met with Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng and visited EXPO 2010.
“I am very happy that our mutual relations have intensified after Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Bratislava last year. Now I am pleased that we can talk about EXPO 2010,” the Slovak President told Han Zheng, adding that he was glad to witness Slovakia’s success at the fair.

Both representatives stressed that the Slovak-Chinese cooperation was also important in the context of our membership of the European Union which is one of China’s most important trading and economic partners. The Slovak President, with an entourage of 15 businesspeople, said that “all of this implies good cooperation between our country and China, but I think there is still room for improvement.”

The head of state added that China was best suited for investments in Slovakia and that both countries could even jointly invest in third countries. “We could find effective common interests in the machinery industry, chemical industry, forestry and water management, as well as agriculture,” Gašparovič added.