President of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gašparovič and his wife pay official visit to the Republic of Poland

From the 6th to the 8th of June 2008, the Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič, with his wife Silvia, paid an official visit to the Republic of Poland.

The Slovak president discussed in particular the development of bilateral cooperation on all levels with his counterpart Lech Kaczyński. Ivan Gašparovič pointed out that the V4 countries have not been using cooperation efficiently enough in order to achieve a common basis in the EU. “We should communicate more intensively within the V4 and find a better understanding,” the Slovak president said. Both presidents agreed that mutual relations reach high standards. However, the current state of traffic connection does not reflect this fact. Particularly the infrastructure of highways, railways and air connections should be a priority of future cooperation. The Slovak and Polish president also discussed Ukraine’s membership of NATO. They also talked about issues concerning the energy stability and security of both countries.

In Warsaw, Ivan Gašparovič met with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Donald Tusk. During their discussion Mr Gašparovič emphasised the importance of the development of tourism which has not yet been used to its full potential. They also tackled the Ukraine’s accession to NATO as well as the issues concerning the energy sector and energy security. The Slovak president presented the request of the Žilina self-governing region and the Horná Orava micro-region to solve the pollution of Oravská priehrada (the Orava dam) by the Čierna Orava river, which flows into the dam on the Slovak side.

The Slovak President also met with the Vice-Voivode of Pomerania Michal Owczarczak and the Mayor of Gdansk, Pawel Adamowicz. The extension of the cooperation between Slovakia and Poland was a topic of their discussion. Last year’s presentation of Slovakia in the Tri-City (Gdansk – Gdynia – Sopot), within the series of events entitled “Slovakia in the cities of Poland”, confirmed that bilateral cooperation was not limited to the border regions. According to Ivan Gašparovič, the Pomeranian Voivodeship and the city conglomerate of Gdansk – Gdynia – Sopot known under the name of Tri-City, offer “huge potential, particularly for the development of economic and trade relations and undiscovered tourism possibilities.”