Around 50 ambassadors to Slovakia met Foreign Affairs Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda (SDKÚ) in Bratislava on Thursday, September 2, the TASR newswire reported and several of the ambassadors told Dzurinda that their countries' ministers are interested in meeting him at the upcoming UN General Assembly. The diplomats mainly discussed dominant issues in their own countries with Dzurinda.

“When I meet the Israeli ambassador, I'm very interested whether the difficulties in his country will thwart the planned direct talks [between Israel and the Palestinians]. In talks with the Serbian ambassador, I had to mention recent developments concerning the resolution [on Kosovo], which will be discussed at the UN General Assembly,” said Dzurinda, as quoted by TASR.

Dzurinda said that he was particularly pleased with his talks with the South Korean ambassador. “The ambassador reminded me how active South Korea is in investments, what an important share of GDP it is creating in Slovakia today. But I was especially interested in the fact that he knows that more Korean companies are interested and that it would be good to visit Korea again or think about how to use this interest.”

Australian ambassador Michael John Potts praised the long-term good relations between Slovakia and Australia, adding that there is a large Slovak community living in his homeland. According to him, bilateral relations have been strengthened by co-operation in the military mission in Uruzgan, Afghanistan. Potts praised Dzurinda as the new Foreign Affairs Minister, saying "Mr. Dzurinda is an absolute professional. He understands foreign affairs and internal politics".

Irish ambassador Kathlyn Coll told TASR that she is satisfied with the choice minister as well, adding that she appreciates seeing familiar faces in the new Slovak government such as Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš.

Spanish ambassador Jose Angel Lopez Jorrin said that he expects that relations between Slovakia and Spain will remain "at least at the same very good level as they are now", adding that he would be pleased if Slovakia was more visible in Spain, especially when it comes to business relations.

Source: TASR

Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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