Press Advisories

5. 1. 201820:03

Prime Minister Babiš discussed Czech-Slovak relations with the Slovak Premier Fico

On Friday, 5 January 2018, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Andrej Babiš, met in Slovakia at his first official foreign visit with Premier Robert Fico. At their meeting, they agreed on intensifying cooperation in several key areas such as transport infrastructure or defence. They also spoke of joint celebrations of the anniversary in 2018.

"I am glad to have upheld the tradition and that my first official foreign trip was directed to the Slovak Republic. Our relations are a priority. The more this year as we commemorate a hundred years since the establishment of Czechoslovakia and 25 years since the split of Czechoslovakia, the course of which may set an example for the whole world, for Europe. Premier Fico and I discussed mainly the agenda of the European Union, we agreed that the cooperation of V4, the Slavkov Declaration, was important, and that we shared the opinion on how to act in the EU,“ said Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.

One of the important topics of the discussion of the prime ministers was cooperation in transport, mainly in terms of the development of cross-border transport infrastructure. Another theme was defence and security. Both premiers agreed to focus on bilateral cooperation in combating hybrid threats. Space was given also to European themes where both premiers agreed that concerning the issue of migration, it was important to seek a functional and permanent solution that would not divide Europe.

Upon the occasion of their meeting, the prime ministers of the Czech and the Slovak Republics adopted a symbolic joint declaration reflecting the importance of 2018 in the Czech-Slovakian relations. In their declaration, the premiers appreciate the exceptional close relations between the Czech Republic and Slovakia and confirm their interest in further developing their cooperation, both in the field of the European Union and in the regional formats, mainly in the Visegrad Group and the Slavkov Declaration.

Premier Andrej Babiš confirmed with his Slovakian counterpart Robert Fico their willingness to continue the tradition of joint sessions of the Czech and Slovak governments, which are the evidence of the exceptional Czech-Slovakian relations.

After their meeting, both prime ministers honoured the memory of T.G.Masaryk and M.R.Štefánik by laying wreaths at their memorials in Bratislava.

The delegation of the prime minister included the Defence Minister Karla Šlechtová and the Finance Minister Alena Schillerová who met with their Slovak counterparts, Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš and Finance Minister Peter Kažimír.