BRATISLAVA/SHANGHAI, September 3, (WEBNOVINY) — Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic began his working visit to China at the Slovak Consulate General in Shanghai. Consul General Pavol Sykorcin presented the work of the consular department and explained the complex procedures in issuance of visas for Chinese citizens given Slovakia’s membership in the European Union and the Schengen Area.
President Gasparovic then visited one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world — the company Huawei, based in Shanghai, which is also one of the largest Chinese investor in Slovakia. Huawei provides telecommunications solutions for 37 of the world’s top fifty operators. President Gasparovic wanted to know whether the company plans to engage in research and development collaboration in Slovakia, for example, with the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Ken Hu confirmed their interest in cooperation with some Slovak technical universities and pointed out that the Slovak subsidiary of Huawei Technologies has been operating in Slovakia since 2006 and is interested in Slovak experts in their international subsidiaries. „I am confident that also thanks to the geographical position of Slovakia, which is the center of Europe and thus the most advantageous for logistics in Europe, your high-end technologies will their application,“ the president said.
President Gasparovic continued his visit by a working meeting with Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng. In his opening address, the Mayor stressed the importance of Sino-Slovak cooperation, which last year commemorated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. „We are pleased that your country joined the nearly 250 exhibitors at the world exhibition EXPO 2010 in Shanghai. The Slovak national pavilion here demonstrated a very successful and excellent presentation,“ he said. „I am very pleased that after last year’s visit of Chinese President Hu Jin Tao in Bratislava our mutual relations further intensified. Now I am glad that we can also talk about EXPO 2010,“ Gasparovic said in a conversation with Han Zheng. He added that he is glad about successful participation of Slovakia, which will have its national day at EXPO 2010 on Saturday.
Both leaders stressed that Slovakia-China cooperation has its importance also in the context of Slovakia’s membership in the European Union, which is one of the most important trading and economic partners of China. According to the president, who took with him to China a delegation of fifteen Slovak business leaders, „all of these steps indicate that there is good cooperation between our country and China, but I think it still could be better.“ He added that China has ideal preconditions to invest in Slovakia or together with Slovakia to invest in third countries. „In engineering, chemistry, forestry, and water management and in agricultural production, we can efficiently find common interests,“ Gasparovic continued. He believes that China and the EU can work together to ease the impacts of the global economic crisis and mentioned Slovak spas and thermal springs as one of the possibilities for Chinese capital investments in Slovakia.
The Slovak president left for a ten-day official visit to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macau, and Cambodia, this Wednesday. Information about the visit was provided to SITA by presidential spokesman Marek Trubac.
SITA