Kalinak: Slovakia and Czech Republic Pushing Defence Industry Self-sufficiency

Bratislava, 21 January (TASR) – Slovak Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) and his Czech counterpart Jaromir Zuna have agreed on the need to build greater self-sufficiency in the defence industry for their countries, declaring mutual willingness to continue expanding their cooperation, TASR has learnt from a briefing after the two met during Zuna's official visit to Slovakia on Wednesday. The ministers also share similar views on the issue of US claims regarding Greenland. According to them, the geopolitical situation should be addressed through dialogue, and the use of military force should be prevented. Kalinak voiced appreciation for the Czech Republic's continued assistance in guarding Slovak airspace and the ongoing Czech presence in the multinational brigade deployed in Slovakia. "Of course, during the initial part of the talks — as we'll continue after lunch — we also discussed options for industrial cooperation that are already open. We're discussing Czech Skyfox training aircraft," said Kalinak. According to Zuna, the defence interests of the Czech Republic and Slovakia are often very close or even identical. He highlighted that the two countries have much to offer each other and announced that the Czech Republic will continue to participate in the multinational mission in Slovakia. "We'll also look for ways in which the Czech Republic could participate in, and possibly purchase, products of the Slovak defence industry, or what we could develop together in the future," said the Czech defence minister. mf/df