Annual Report Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic 2008

opment of bilateral and regional relations with
important Slovak partners – was realized primarily
within the framework of the multilateral
negotiations of the World Trade Organization
(WTO) on the Doha development agenda. Both
in formulating future directions and realizing
the EU common trade policy, we actively promoted
our interests and priorities according to
the requirements of the business sector and the
intentions of the Pro-Export Policy of the Slovak
Republic for 2007-2011.
The multilateral trade negotiations of the WTO
once again reached a very high level of intensity.
The July meetings of Ministers in Geneva which
were to conclude a final agreement, however,
came to a successful end. Thus, it will be necessary
to work even more intensively to overcome
the long accumulated problems in trade relations
between developed and developing economies,
to reverse the spreading economic recession, and
to prevent the deterioration of the results already
achieved in trade negotiations.
In terms of the supplementary activities conducted
in cooperation with the international
community, special mention should be given
to to the UN Economic Commission for Europe
(ECE) programmes. ECE activity continued in the
areas of environmental issues, agriculture, transport,
energy, and trade statistics. A wide range
of Slovak experts were included within the ECE
programmes. The corresponding government departments
or their experts actively participated
in the project, the Environment for Europe (for example
the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute
was the seat of the International Water Assessment
Centre IWAC for 2008).
Economic Activities of
Diplomatic Missions
Among the specific activities of the foreign service
directed at supporting the economic interests
of the SR, we must mention the active approach
to encouraging potential investors into the Slovak
economy (for instance, presentations on the
government’s intentions to acquire partners for
Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in motorway
construction, or the activities of the Embassies in
Washington, Berlin, Stockholm, and other capital
cities). Support activities focused on broadening
trade exchange, expanding tourism and particular
cooperation projects overseas (the Slovak Embassies
in Astana, Beijing, Helsinki), and the support
of export with the cooperation of Eximbank,
and many others.
Peter Mihók,
President of the Slovak
Chamber of Commerce
and Industry
We Offer Cooperation
What is the most vulnerable part of the Slovak
economy and, vice-versa, where do you see the greatest
opportunities for Slovakia in the context of the
global economic and financial crisis?
The nature of Slovakia’s position in the current
economic crisis can be seen in both positive and
negative terms. The positives include: a stabilized
banking and financial sector that has not been directly
damaged during the credit crisis, however
the situation in some of the parent banks has had
an indirect influence; the successful adoption of the
Euro on 1 January 2009, which makes for higher currency
stability and a decrease in transaction costs;
public investments which not only maintain internal
demand but also encourage development; and
finally, a modern industrial base equipped with the
newest technologies. Among the negatives are: the
narrow production portfolio of the Slovak economy
with the significant dominance of two industries
– the automotive industry and the electro-technical
industry, and a strong orientation, almost monolithic,
towards EU markets, which represent more than
85% of Slovakia’s exports. These are mostly countries
that are clearly in the midst of recession. Further
negatives would be energy instability – we are not
self-sufficient in any energy resource (not even electricity,
anymore) and our sources are not territorially
diversified; a potential increase in unemployment,
caused not only by the decrease in production, but
also by the return of people working abroad, which
could produce tension within the labour market. On
the other hand, the return of highly-qualified people
to professions that are currently experiencing underemployment
may prove to be positive. The final issue
is the limited internal market. These and other
factors will influence Slovakia’s society and economy
throughout 2009 for certain and most likely beyond.
There are factors over which we have no control, but
there are smaller areas where we can make a difference
by adapting our business and economic behaviour.
The crisis can be used by society as a whole to
invest in those areas of the economy (bio-technologies,
optical electronics, and so on) which will decrease
the monolithic nature of our production.
In which areas does the Slovak business community
see the greatest deficiency in the performance of
state institutions towards the support of their trade
and economic activities abroad?
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