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“A hundred years of friendship has created a strong and lasting tie between Slovakia and Japan, stated Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Lajčák at the opening ceremony of the cultural events on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Slovak-Japanese diplomatic relations held at the Dvorana (Courtyard) of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic today (14 January 2020).

“The dynamics of foreign policy events pushes us to continue maintaining a high degree of professionalism in our foreign service,” stated Miroslav Lajčák, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, in his concluding remarks delivered at the meeting of the heads of diplomatic missions. As he clarified, demands on multilateral political, consular and economic dimensions of foreign policy are high, and therefore it is important to continue to deliver consistently. “I wish to thank you for always having the interests of the Slovak Republic and its citizens in mind while carrying out your tasks,” emphasized the head of the Slovak diplomatic service, addressing the Slovak ambassadors as he was formally closing the four-day meeting.

Being received by the President of the Slovak Republic Zuzana Čaputova was the most important item of the agenda of the meeting of the heads of diplomatic missions, which continued today (July 3, 2019) in Bratislava. “I took office with the idea that I wish to be an active president in the area of foreign policy among others. I will clearly and straightforwardly communicate our values and our interests and defend them, as I wish for Slovakia to be perceived as a confident country with its values firmly anchored. I will not be silent should our values be besmirched, or should there be confusing signals coming out of Slovakia or acts against our interests as a member of the EU and NATO. This is mainly what we discussed with the minister of foreign affairs Miroslav Lajčák and our ambassadors. I very much appreciate the work they do for Slovakia. I promise I will do everything I can so that they can be proud of Slovakia and have good conditions for their demanding work. I want our diplomatic service to continue to be respected and of quality,” proclaimed the Slovak president Zuzana Čaputová.

“I appreciate that in part owing to the national brand we are seen today much more positively abroad,” stated the Minister of Foreign and Euroepan Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Miroslav Lajčák, referring to the results of the prestigious ranking “FutureBrand Country Index 2019” in which Slovakia has moved up 24 places since 2014.

Economic diplomacy, development aid and cooperation with the business sector at home and abroad were the three dominant themes of the second day of the standard meeting of the heads of diplomatic missions, which continued today (2 July 2019) at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, in Bratislava. “Economic diplomacy, development aid and generally coordinating activities with the business sector are one of the main tasks of the heads of diplomatic missions,” the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Miroslav Lajčák, said as he welcomed the Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Informatization Richard Raši and the Minister of Economy Peter Žiga.

Delivering introductory remarks, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Miroslav Lajčák, opened today (1 July 2019) the standard meeting of the heads of diplomatic missions of the Slovak Republic abroad. The ministry organizes this forum every year as a platform for discussion on principal issues of Slovak foreign policy and as an opportunity to analyse in detail the results achieved. “The foreign policy milieu has changed and so has the situation at home. Foreign policy today is, more than ever before, subject to internal political debates,” emphasized Miroslav Lajčák when speaking to the present heads of diplomatic missions. According to Slovakia’s chief diplomat, it is therefore necessary for our diplomatic missions to continue to execute their agendas professionally, in all required areas. “Be it in relation to the political or economic agendas, development aid, but in particular to the consular agenda, our work means service to all our citizens,” underscored Miroslav Lajčák.

The Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Tokyo participated on 18 and 19 May 2019 in the International tourist fair "Kanku Tabihaku 2019" - one of the largest tourism event in Japan with the participation of more than 40,000 visitors.

Today (15 April 2019), Miroslav Lajčák, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, spoke at the 19th Review Conference on Slovak Foreign and European Policy, organized by the Research Centre of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (RC SFPA) in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic. In his remarks, the minister evaluated developments on the global and European scene, important trends of Slovak foreign policy and internal developments.

Call for applications within the National Scholarship Programme of the Slovak Republic is open for study, research, teaching and artistic stays during the academic year 2019/2020.

The Good Will Envoy Awards go to successful Slovaks living and working abroad on a long-term basis who, by their work, spread the good reputation of our country and contribute to fostering its positive image and the “Slovakia brand”. The award is also an expression of recognition of the laureates’ success in their professional lives and gratitude for their valuable contribution to the positive presentation of the Slovak Republic abroad.

On 7 November 2018, František Ružička, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs received Naokazu Takemoto, Chairman of the Japan-Slovakia Parliamentary Friendship Group.

Today (21 August 2018) Miroslav Lajčák, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, at the ministry addressed the ambassadors of the Slovak Republic abroad. They gathered in Bratislava to take part in a regular meeting of heads of representation missions of the Slovak Republic.

The Embassy of the Slovak Republic, in cooperation with the importer of Slovak wine to Japan - Mighty Wine, participated in the international tourism fair "Kanku Tabihaku 2018" held on 19. - 20. May 2018 at Kansai Airport in Osaka.

On the occasion of the international exhibition "Japan IT Week" a science and innovation seminar of V4 countries was held in Tokyo on May 8, 2018. The seminar "V4 + Japan Innovation & IT in Central Europe" was attended by representatives of research institutions and IT companies from Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Japan.

The Slovak company SPINEA s.r.o. participated at Asia's largest exhibition and conference dedicated to the medical industry and devices "Medtec Japan 2018", held in Tokyo from 18 April to 20 April 2018. The company SPINEA is one of the world's top four world-class producers of bearing reduction gears, mainly used in automated and robotic systems.

The 3rd World Summit on Patient Safety was held in Tokyo on April 13th and 14th, 2018.

The Shoto Museum of Art in Tokyo, with the support of the Embassy of the Slovak Republic, the Embassy of the Czech Republic and the Japanese Board on Books for Young People holds from April 7 to May 27, 2018, an exhibition entitled "The Children's theme in the Čapek Brothers' Works", which shows their important contribution to the development of children's literature in Czechoslovakia.

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs SR, Lukáš Parízek, met with his Japanese departmental counterpart, Kazuyuki Nakane, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan on the side lines of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna today (7 December2017).

The Slovak company SPINEA participated at the world’s largest trade show focusing on robotics International Robotics Fair iRex in Tokyo 29.11. - 2. 12.2017.

Vice-Rector for International Cooperation at the Academy of Arts and Design in Bratislava, Nina de Gelder, held a meeting on 22.- 30. October 2017 with the management of the partner University of the Arts, Geidai in Tokyo and Yokohama on the possibilities of further cooperation.