MFA: Milan Lajciak Will Be Slovakia's New Ambassador to China

Bratislava, 1 July (TASR) - Slovakia will be represented in China by a new ambassador, Milan Lajciak, who also has accreditation for Mongolia, the Foreign Ministry's communications department told TASR on Tuesday, adding that he'll return for the third time to the Slovak embassy in Beijing, which he founded in 1993. "Lajciak has been working at the Foreign Ministry since it was set up in 1993, he is the first Slovak ambassador to China, he's a sinologist and speaks Chinese. Until now, he has held the post of Slovak ambassador to Azerbaijan," said the ministry. The diplomat also previously headed Slovak embassies in Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia. He was also an adviser to the Slovak president on foreign policy issues. "Slovak-Chinese relations are based on pragmatic cooperation, which was significantly strengthened by the November visit of Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to China with the largest ever delegation of ministers and entrepreneurs," said Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD), pointing to the scrapping of the visa requirement for Slovaks, which is currently valid for 30 days. According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Slovakia plans to open a Slovak Institute in Beijing. am/mcs