Blanar Assesses First Year as Foreign Affairs Minister

Bratislava, October 27 (TASR) - The past year at the Foreign Affairs Ministry has brought difficult negotiations and crisis situations, but also joint successes, Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) said in a video on Facebook in which he assessed his first year in office. Blanar stressed that the ministry has been fulfilling objectives defined in the government manifesto. "It promotes a sovereign foreign policy, which should serve the people of Slovakia and our country," Blanar said, praising the work of his team. In the video, the ministry's representatives pointed to negotiations with the European Union and the preparation for Slovakia's membership in the UN Security Council in 2028-2029. "In our diplomatic activities, we have also focused strongly on expanding relations with regions outside the EU, such as Latin America and Africa," said State Secretary Marek Estok. State Secretary Rastislav Chovanec highlighted the strengthening of economic diplomacy. "We have expanded the network of economic diplomats from 17 to 43 and managed to open doors for Slovak companies in interesting markets such as India, Korea and Azerbaijan," he said. Miroslava Vozaryova, secretary general of the service office of the ministry, pointed to the updating of the Slovak embassy network, which envisages the reopening of embassies in Australia and Brussels, as well as new embassies in Algeria, Tanzania, Malaysia and the Philippines. zel