Blanar Receives New Ambassador of Netherlands to Slovakia Gerzon

Bratislava, March 11 (TASR) - Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) received on Tuesday new Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Slovakia Jules Gerzon, the Foreign Affairs Ministry's communications department told TASR on Tuesday, adding that at the meeting, they stressed the productive Slovak-Dutch relations, which the partners want to strengthen with an official visit. The last bilateral meeting at the level of the Slovak foreign affairs minister in the Netherlands took place 13 years ago. According to Blanar, Slovakia and the Netherlands are connected by a common commitment to principled respect for international law, which both states consider to be the basis for the functioning of the international order. "For this reason we share very similar views on the current ongoing conflicts in the world. We've also discussed illegal migration and the need to preserve the integrity of Schengen, in which our positions are also identical. This is a key issue and a priority for our governments," Blanar said after the meeting. The Foreign Affairs Ministry pointed out that the Kingdom of the Netherlands is one of the most important investors in Slovakia and one of the ten most important trading partners of Slovakia. Both countries are interested in continuing the development of economic and investment cooperation and strengthening mutual turnover, which exceeds €3 billion annually. am