Export Forum launched in Zilina

Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) on Tuesday launched the 4th Export Forum in Zilina.

Since its inception, the Export Forum has developed into a key platform for economic diplomacy. "We are pleased that interest in the event is growing every year. Today, there are 410 registered participants, including 185 business entities and 30 organisations representing the state and public sector," said Blanar, adding that around 760 interactions between entrepreneurs and representatives of economic diplomacy are expected at the event.

The Forum provides Slovak companies with an opportunity to negotiate directly with state institutions supporting exports and economic diplomats working at embassies abroad. The event is being attended by 62 diplomats from Slovak embassies.

Blanar noted that the Foreign Affairs Ministry wants to bolster Slovakia's economic diplomacy in the near future. "From the current 17 full-blooded economic diplomats, we want to increase this number to 43. We're going to focus on markets that are important for us, and we're returning to territories that were powerful in the times of the former Czechoslovakia," he said, citing Malaysia, the Philippines, Algeria and Tanzania as examples.

Source: TASR