Blanar: Slovakia Could Be Gateway for Singapore's Business Activities in Europe

Singapore, 5 February (TASR-correspondent) – As part of his current working visit to South-East Asia, Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) met Singapore's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang and opened a meeting of Slovak and Singaporean entrepreneurs in Singapore on Thursday, a special TASR correspondent reported on the same day. Blanar stated that Slovakia could serve as a gateway for Singaporean businesses seeking to operate in Europe. The head of Slovak diplomacy and his Singaporean counterpart during their meeting exchanged views on ways to boost cooperation. Blanar pointed out that Slovakia has concluded an agreement with Singapore on avoiding double taxation and protecting investments. According to him, this agreement provides a solid basis for investment opportunities. "It's the fifth biggest investor in the EU, and we'd like to offer Slovakia to Singapore as a gateway to Europe for business in a broader context," said Blanar. According to him, Slovakia can contribute in particular in the areas of information and green technologies, technology transfers, cyber-security and the defence industry. The minister said that Slovakia offers potential Singaporean investors a stable and predictable environment in which projects can be implemented using local capacities and close links to European customers and suppliers. According to Blanar, Slovakia and Singapore both advocate a sovereign foreign policy based on respect for international law, and the two countries support each other's candidacies in international organisations. On Thursday, the head of Slovak diplomacy also opened a meeting of Slovak and Singaporean entrepreneurs, co-organised by the Central and Eastern European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (CEEC). "Just a few Singaporean companies are currently operating in Slovakia, but they are good examples of cooperation that other investors can build on," stressed Blanar. "At the same time, we can see that many Slovak companies are active here and are beginning to establish themselves in green energy, IT and artificial intelligence, which I believe is very positive news for future cooperation," added the minister. ko/df