Blanar and Kowal Confirm Importance of Slovak-Polish Relations

Bratislava, 20 January (TASR) - Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) met chairman of the Polish Sejm's foreign affairs committee Pawel Kowal on Monday (19 January), TASR has learnt from the Slovak Foreign Ministry's communications department. According to the communications department, the meeting confirmed the extraordinary importance of Slovak-Polish relations and mutual interest in deepening them at the bilateral, regional and European levels. "Our relations with Poland have long been stable, intensive and comprehensively developed at the political, security, economic and interpersonal levels, ranking among Slovakia's key bilateral partnerships, with meetings held at the levels of presidents, governments, ministers and parliaments," said Blanar, adding that the meeting was held as follow-up to his visit to Warsaw last year. The head of Slovak diplomacy highlighted the importance of economic and investment cooperation between both countries, as Poland ranks fourth on the list of Slovakia's most important trading partners. "The volume of trade exchange has been growing long term, and our ambition is to develop these ties further via specific projects," said Blanar, describing cooperation in the energy and defence sectors, including the use of Poland's LNG terminals and the exchange of experience in using F-16 fighter jets, as promising. According to him, cross-border cooperation holds a special place in Slovak-Polish relations, while transport connectivity remains a major challenge, especially in terms of infrastructure and services. "I believe that the recent meeting of the Slovak-Polish intergovernmental commission for cross-border cooperation, which met again in October 2025 after a three-year hiatus, will contribute towards strengthening cooperation in the field of infrastructure," added Blanar. The two sides also discussed the Visegrad Four (V4 - Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland) partnership. Blanar said that the V4 format should continue, in particular as regards coordinating and promoting common interests within the European agenda. "Our presidency of the Visegrad Group is scheduled to start in the second half of this year, and we want to pursue a more ambitious and proactive political line," stated Blanar, adding that he welcomed Kowal's confirmation of support for the Slovak initiative to revitalise the V4. On Ukraine and the prospects for peace, both sides agreed that Slovakia and Poland share a common strategic interest in achieving a fair and sustainable peace in line with the UN Charter and international law. They also discussed the trilateral Carpathian Initiative involving Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine, which could potentially become a platform for future cross-border projects and rebuilding Ukraine. jrg/df