Ministerial panel at the Visegrad 4 Business conference in Bratislava (source: Courtesy of the Council of Slovak Exporters)
Central Europe is not just a space that shares a cultural and historical heritage.
The countries of the Visegrad Group (V4) - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - are economically interconnected. Entrepreneurs based in the region are open to mutual cooperation and seek synergic effects.
In terms of international trade, the V4 is not only at the forefront of Europe, but also the world – fourth in the EU, fifth in Europe and eighth in the world.
“We should first try to be successful in our own region, because this is logistically advantageous both in terms of security and costs and only when stronger, going out into the world,” Lukáš Parízek, chairman of the Council of Slovak Exporters told The Slovak Spectator during the Visegrad 4 Business Conference held in Bratislava in mid-October.
The conference addressed current security issues, the energy crisis, post-pandemic recovery as well as the internationalisation of the V4. Parízek highlighted the strength of the region: if regarded as a single state, the V4 would be the fifth-largest economy in Europe and 12th globally. Its population of 64 million would rank it 22nd - largest in the world and fourth in Europe.
