On 2 September 2021, President Zuzana Čaputová welcomed the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on an official visit to the Slovak Republic.
The president considers Germany to be an extremely important strategic and economic partner for our country. There are more than 500 German firms operating in Slovakia with an annual turnover of 22 million euros, employment nearly 150,000 people. “I consider the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to be my friend. I am very pleased to be once more able to welcome him in person to Bratislava.”
According to the president, conditions in the German economy work as a barometer for us because they automatically carry over to our economy. German is also a key player in the EU which sees Slovakia as a constructive, pro-European partner in the V4.
The president discussed internal political developments in our countries with President Steinmeier. “I thanked him for the solidarity and assistance that Germany provided to Slovakia in the most difficult phase of the pandemic. We also spoke about the phenomenon of extremism and hate speech on social network, which has contributed to widening divisions not only in our society. We also spoke about our countries’ plans to achieve climate neutrality and about how these objectives are reflected in the Slovak Recovery Plan. We did not tiptoe around the difficult issues such as the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline or the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.”
The president informed the German president that despite the extremely complicated security situation, Slovakia had succeeded in evacuating from Afghanistan nearly 40 people, mainly women and children, who had a close relationship to our country. “However, we must also consider the lessons that can be learned from our activities there and the allies’ chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
During the afternoon, the German and Slovak presidents attended a Globsec discussion on the contemporary challenges facing democracy. In the evening, the heads of state met at a jazz concert in the Liszt Garden at the University Library in Bratislava.
