Foreign Ministry Wants to Support Economic Diplomacy via Honorary Consuls

Bratislava, 4 June (TASR) - The Foreign and European Affairs Ministry wants to support Slovak economic diplomacy partly via cooperation with honorary consulates, said Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) during the ninth meeting of honorary consuls that began in Bratislava on Wednesday. According to him, the aim is to exchange experiences and take further steps in line with the priorities of Slovak diplomacy. More than a hundred honorary consuls from around the world are attending the meeting. "The honorary consuls are most often well-known businessman, famous figures in the country in which they work or come from, and they represent the Slovak Republic. In our opinion they haven't been used enough, and that's why we organised this meeting of all honorary consuls for the first time in seven years so that we can share together what we want to achieve, what we are doing, and at the same time gain impetus from them regarding how we can make use of them to strengthen economic diplomacy," said Blanar. He noted that there are now 165 Slovak honorary consulates, including seven general consulates. According to him, the ministry is discussing the setting up of around 30 new honorary consulates. The honorary consuls will meet President Peter Pellegrini and Parliamentary Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) during the three-day programme between 4-6 June 2025. They will also have discussions with Vice-premier for the Recovery Plan and a Knowledge-based Economy Peter Kmec (Voice-SD) and Foreign Ministry State Secretary Rastislav Chovanec. The minister noted that at the same time the consuls will meet entrepreneurs in order to garner information, while the ministry will familiarise them with its visions and strategy. In addition, they will be taken to the regions so that they can learn more about Slovak culture and other towns and cities. df/ko