MFA: Operational Crisis Centre Handled over 1,000 Phone Calls in Three Months

Bratislava, January 6 (TASR) - The International Operational Crisis Centre, set up by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in October 2024, handled more than 1,000 phone calls in its first three months in operation, TASR has learnt from the ministry's communications department. The centre is available to Slovak citizens in all time zones 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "At the moment, via the centre we cover the first eight Slovak representations in seven countries - in Argentina, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Japan, Canada, Mexico and the USA. We'll continuously connect the remaining lines to it during this year, thanks to which we'll be able to help our citizens in a more efficient and better-quality way," said Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD). According to the ministry, the questions asked have mainly concerned visas and the verification of documents provided by Slovak embassies abroad. Citizens can contact the centre via the phone number +421 2 5978 5978. The centre has also taken over the agenda of diplomatic permits for flyovers. According to the ministry, the change has been reflected in more prompt reactions. "The diplomatic service is available 24/7, and it's already handled more than 700 such requests concerning Slovak or foreign humanitarian, rescue and military flights, emergency missions, flyovers by government planes of other countries, as well as flights by Slovak officials and Slovak government aircraft," said the ministry's consular and international law section head Igor Pokojny. ko/df