On the second day of the official visit to Slovakia, the Serbian delegation headed by the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic was received by the President of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gasparovic.

In the meeting, the officials discussed the perspectives for furthering bilateral relations between Serbia and Slovakia, agreeing that the two countries have always enjoyed traditionally good and close relations and that both intend to cultivate and improve those relations on all levels. The recent meeting between President Tadic and President Gasparovic, as well as the visit of the Serbian Parliament Speaker to Slovakia provide an incentive to raise the level of cooperation on the interparliamentary and economic levels, as well as in the spheres of education, defense and social issues.

Thanking the Slovak President for his country’s full support and principled position regarding Serbia’s process of accession to the European Union, as well as its efforts before the International Court of Justice to preserve Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty as member of the United Nations, Djukic-Dejanovic stressed that this type of support was appreciated not only by the Government and the Parliament officials, but by the Serbian public as well.

Gasparovic repeated that the Slovak Republic did not intend to change its position, but also expressed hope that the whole Western Balkans would join the European Union, adding that such stability in the region would be appreciated by all the members of the European Union. “I hope that Serbia will speed up its approach to the European Union. Croatia is slightly ahead of Serbia, but we believe it necessary for Serbia and Croatia to join the European Union simultaneously”, the Slovak President said.

In the meeting with Gasparovic, Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic expressed great pleasure at the fact that the members of the Serbian community in Slovakia have officially gained the status of ethnic minority, and that Slovaks in Serbia enjoy all the rights of Serbian citizens while at the same time they cultivate their national, lingual and cultural identity.

In addition, the visit to Slovakia included meetings with the members of the Serbia-Slovakia Friendship Group, as well as the representatives of the Serbian community in Slovakia, who informed the National Assembly Speaker on the position of Serbs in Slovakia.