Slovakia's New Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein Will Be Sona Budayova

Bratislava, August 22 (TASR) - Slovakia's new ambassador to Switzerland, with authority also for Liechtenstein, will be career diplomat Sona Budayova, who has already held diplomatic posts in the Czech Republic, Finland, Kuwait, Turkey, at NATO in Brussels and at the UN in Geneva, the Foreign Ministry's communications department told TASR on Friday, adding that Budayova is returning to Switzerland for the third time, having already served as deputy ambassador in Bern. Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) pointed out that the political dialogue between Slovakia and Switzerland has intensified at all levels in recent years. In particular, he highlighted cooperation in pushing through peaceful solutions at the United Nations, which is also based in Geneva, as well as within the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Slovak and Swiss soldiers have been serving together in peacekeeping operations in the Western Balkans for a long time - currently in Operation EUFOR Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bilateral cooperation is also strengthened by the Swiss Financial Mechanism, through which Switzerland is providing grants of €47 million to Slovakia for the implementation of projects until 2029. New Ambassador Budayova pointed out that the turnover of Slovak-Swiss trade has a slightly increasing trend and reached almost €2.2 billion last year. Companies with Swiss capital employ around 15,000 people in Slovakia. Budayova sees considerable potential in the economic and innovation sphere and, according to her, cooperation in the field of start-ups and in the scientific and academic community is also promising. She noted that Slovak experts are also active in the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN). am/df