On Wednesday, 22 November 2023, President Čaputová attended the summit of the heads of state of the V4 countries that took place at Prague Castle.

She emphasized that the Prague summit would be her last in office. "During these almost five years there is one thing that has been confirmed to me over and over again: as neighbours and countries in one region, we have much in common. And even if we do not agree on a number of values and political or geopolitical issues, we are connected by strong interpersonal contacts and business links, but also challenges that we must face as individual states. And it was precisely these specific overlaps that we focused on today.”

According to the president, one of the most visible tools of cooperation that strengthens the connection between people and the civic society is the Visegrad Fund. "It has supported thousands of successful civic and community projects, cultural initiatives and academic exchanges, as well as reforms in our countries and beyond their borders in the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova. Its contribution can be greater the more it responds to the most current needs and challenges of the time, including the need to support independent media, the fight against misinformation, citizen initiatives and community and municipal projects."

According to the president, a key topic where our cooperation can be useful is the support of an innovative and resilient economy in our region. "In a relatively short period after the fall of communism, our countries underwent a successful transformation to a market economy, but until now, figuratively speaking, they have become the factories and workshops of Europe. In the coming decades, we must become one of the continent’s brain centres. I presented Slovakia’s plans in this direction to the V4 partners; this year we adopted the national strategy for research, development and innovation until 2030."

The President also pointed out that the V4 countries are not only connected by the need to continue building common road, rail and communication links, but by the need to deepen cooperation in areas, such as nuclear energy, where expertise is lacking in some countries.

"We have not ignored foreign policy and security topics that have a direct impact on our countries, especially the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine. It is our common interest that international law be respected and that a just and sustainable peace be achieved east of our borders. Our multi-faceted support of Ukraine helps and we need to continue it. I thank Czech President Petr Pavel for his hospitality and for organizing the summit, and President Novák and President Duda for the open discussion. I look forward to our next meeting."