President of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gašparovič has received the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey, Cemil Çiçek.

“Right from the beginning, I wish to appreciate the good quality of relations between our two countries. Turkey is our ally in NATO and we consider it an important player in the developments in the Middle East region and the Balkans,” the Slovak President said at the beginning of their bilateral talks.

According to the Slovak head of state, Slovakia is interested in engaging in a closer cooperation with Turkey; for that purpose, highest-level official meetings are being prepared. Ivan Gašparovič noted that extensive room for cooperation has opened in the trade and economic areas. According to the Slovak President it is extremely important that a sound cooperation is established between the national parliaments, as well.

The Speaker of the Turkish Parliament extended regards to Ivan Gašparovič on behalf of the Turkish President, along with an invitation to pay an official visit to the Republic of Turkey. “We would be glad to see the Turkish-Slovak inter-parliamentary cooperation becoming more intensive in the future,” Cemil Çiçek confirmed. “We have been paying close attention to the developments in Slovakia and its recent achievements,” he said, adding that Turkey had been supportive of Slovakia's membership in NATO and the EU from the very beginning. “The Slovak Republic has constantly expressed its support to Turkey’s efforts to become an EU member state, therefore I would like to thank it for that support,” the Turkish top official pointed out. In addition, he asked that Slovakia further continued supporting Turkish integration efforts into the European Union.

“I am convinced that Turkey’s membership in the EU would be a benefit in all respects, including with respect to the areas of politics, economy and culture. We will therefore appreciate if the dialogue between the European Union and Turkey on its European integration continues,” President Ivan Gašparovič said at the meeting.

The two officials also discussed the issue of Cyprus. The Slovak President said he believed that representatives of Cypriot Turks and Greeks were committed to finding a common consensus on resolving the problems faced by this divided island. “They may perhaps need to be given a free hand to arrive at an agreement,” he added. The two top officials also discussed the issue of possible liberalisation of visa requirements for the citizens of both countries.

For Slovakia, Turkey is also a very important country in terms of energy, where Slovakia seeks possibilities to further diversify its energy supply sources and routes, according to the Slovak President. The Slovak President asked Cemil Çiçek to facilitate the ratification of the agreement on the promotion and mutual protection of investments and of the agreement on social security, concluded between Turkey and Slovakia, in the Turkish parliament.