The President of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman, arrived on Tuesday for an official farewell visit to the Slovak Republic, before the end of his President’s term.

President Andrej Kiska, in a discussion with the Czech President, confirmed the long-standing tradition of above-standard Slovak-Czech relations.

Both Presidents, in light of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Czechoslovakia, within the program placed wreaths at the Memorial of Czechoslovak Statehood and the Memorial of Milan Rastislav Štefánik in Bratislava.

“Today, I’m happy to say that in the world I don’t know of two countries as close as the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic.

Our relationship is at an excellent level, connected historically, joined by Slovaks living in the Czech Republic, Czechs living in Slovakia, mixed marriages, tens of thousands of students studying in the Czech Republic. All of this creates an amazing connection between our countries.

That is why I very much welcomed President Zeman followed such a very good tradition existing between our countries, and visited Slovakia on his last official visit before the presidential election.

Personally, we have excellent relations with the President, although we have different views on some questions. I think we are people who know how to talk about each topic very personally. We are very happy to meet and discuss all possible topics.

In terms of bilateral relations, as I said, it is difficult to do something better. The Czech Republic is Slovakia’s second largest trading partner after Germany. Companies from the Czech Republic are big investors in Slovakia. Tens of thousands of students and hundreds of thousands of our citizens living in the Czech Republic truly create the best conditions – it is beautiful that we are a unique example of cooperation in the world.

Both our countries are waiting for a beautiful anniversary next year. We will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Czechoslovak Republic. We will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Slovak Republic as well as the Czech Republic.
I’m glad that today with the President we are visiting the Czechoslovak Statehood Monument and the Memorial of Milan Rastislav Štefánik..
I’m looking forward to another discussion with the President. We have dealt with the themes of the Visegrad Four, themes regarding the euro, the visions of the European Union.”