Foreign Affairs Minister Blanar Presents Gold Medal to Outgoing Dutch Ambassador

Bratislava, November 27 (TASR) - Head of Slovak diplomacy Juraj Blanar on Tuesday (November 26) presented the Gold Memorial Medal of the Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister to outgoing Dutch Ambassador to Slovakia Gabrielle Sancisi for her significant contribution to the development of Slovak-Dutch relations and economic diplomacy. On the occasion of the end of her three-year diplomatic mission in Slovakia, Blanar wished Sancisi a great deal of success in her future roles. "I thanked the ambassador for her personal devotion, active attitude and intensive dialogue, which led to positive developments in our partnership and in implementing many successful projects in the field of education, health care and industry," said Blanar, adding that the level of Slovak-Dutch relations has been very good for a long time. The Slovak minister also thanked the Netherlands for the contribution of its armed forces to Slovakia's security by providing the Patriot missile defence system. The Netherlands is a key trading partner for Slovakia, ranked in the top ten countries in terms of foreign trade. "Our bilateral trade turnover reached more than €500 million last year, and the aim is to continue to develop strong economic ties in the field of green technologies, energy in relation to renewable resources, health care and smart cities and waste-management projects," stated the minister, who stressed that Dutch firms are among the significant investors in Slovakia. The Dutch ambassador highlighted the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine as the next opportunity for developing cooperation. ko/df