Premier Planning Several Foreign Trips, Next One Scheduled for South Korea

Bratislava, August 22 (TASR) - I'm planning a number of foreign trips aimed at economic cooperation in the coming months, stated Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) after signing a Declaration on the Development of Societal Dialogue in Slovakia on Thursday. The premier is expected to travel to South Korea on September 29, where he wants to discuss the possible supply of a nuclear unit with an output of 1,200 megawatts for the Jaslovske Bohunice site in Trnava region. In October, a joint meeting of the governments of Ukraine and Slovakia is set to take place in Mukachevo, Ukraine as well as a visit to Serbia, and the prime minister is due to travel to China on November 1. "We want to make a decision regarding the construction of a new nuclear unit at Jaslovske Bohunice," said Fico, adding that the government delegation in South Korea should also raise the issue of other large investments that the Asian country has in Slovakia. According to the premier, the basis for negotiations with the Ukrainian government should be a special cooperation plan between Slovakia and Ukraine, which was prepared in spite of differing views on the course of the war and on what should happen in Ukraine. The talks with Chinese representatives should be devoted to an investment involving a battery plant in Surany (Nitra region) but also, for example, a hydro power plant on the Ipel River. The prime minister's next trips should include a visit to Brazil and Chile in December, while in February of next year he'd like to go ahead with his previously announced visit to Vietnam. am/df