BRATISLAVA/LISBON, November 20, (WEBNOVINY) – On the second day of the NATO summit in Lisbon, President of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gasparovic held bilateral talks with the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia, Julia Gillard, and expressed gratitude for exemplary collaboration in security and defense policy. In spite of the geographical distance, the military cooperation in Afghanistan brought Slovakia and Australia closer together in recent years, according to the Slovak president. Australia, being a non-NATO ally, deserves to be praised because it shares responsibility for stabilization and redevelopment of Afghanistan.
“The current outcomes in Afghanistan confirm a very good cooperation of Australia and Slovakia in the ISAF mission,” Gillard said. The two politicians agreed upon the need for further constructive cooperation within the ISAF, particularly the joint involvement in training the Afghan Army. Slovakia will take over the responsibility for one of training teams from Australia next year. This information was also confirmed by Gasparovic, who, based on his post, is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic.
The Slovak president sees many opportunities for development of mutual economic and business ties, as well as of cooperation in culture, education and sports. He also thanked for Australia’s support of local Slovak communities. It is estimated that up to 15,000 Slovaks live in Australia. During the talks, Gasparovic hailed the signing of the Social Security Agreement, and provided an optimistic view regarding the finalization of the Treaty on Extradition and the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
Gillard informed Gasparovic of the preparatory works for the EU-Australia Framework Agreement, which would replace the current EU-Australia Framework Partnership. In this respect, Gasparovic expressed full support on behalf of Slovakia. At the end of the brief meeting, the president invited the Australian prime minister to visit Slovakia.
SITA
