Estok: Serbia Slovakia's Key Partner in Western Balkans Region

Belgrade/Bratislava, October 13 (TASR) - Foreign and European Affairs Ministry state secretary Marek Estok held political consultations with his Serbian counterpart Damjan Jovic in Belgrade earlier this week. He also held talks with Serbian European Integration Minister Tanja Miscevic, Foreign and European Affairs Ministry's communication department informed TASR on Sunday. During his meeting on Friday (October 11), Estok called Serbia Slovakia's key partner in the Western Balkans region. He praised the country's economic progress and expressed support for its efforts to join the European Union. Jovic called Slovakia Serbia's irreplaceable partner in fulfilling this strategic goal and thanked Slovakia for the stability of its position on the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, along with the ongoing support for the territorial integrity of Serbia. The two officials also discussed the issue of combatting illegal migration. Serbia has long been an important transit country on the Western-Balkan migration route. More than 1.5 million migrants have passed through Serbia since the outbreak of the migration crisis in 2015. "Slovakia is fully prepared to support Serbia and its partners in handling this situation," said Estok, adding that six Slovak police officers are currently helping at the Serbian border. Estok said that Slovak Premier Robert Fico's planned visit to Serbia, during which he will be accompanied by a business mission, is an impetus for intensification of political relations between the two countries. In this connection, Jovic voiced his expectation that Slovak firms will show increased interest in investing in Serbia also based on this step. Slovak-Serbian trade amounted to more than €1 billion last year. The two sides see further potential in the field of energy, innovation and the automotive industry, as well as in the issues like waste management and aviation technology. A numerous ethnic Slovak minority has been living in Serbia and Estok thanked the Serbian government for supporting it. The seventh annual Czech and Slovak Film Days took place in Serbia in recent days. The event was jointly organised by Slovak and Czech Embassies in Belgrade and opened by Estok together with Czech Foreign Affairs Minister Jan Lipavsky on Thursday (October 10). ko