Welcome to the page of the State Visit to Slovakia

Mister President, Excellency,
Madam Silvia Gasparovicová,
Honourable Authorities,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very grateful and honoured by the words that Your Excellency, Mister President, saw fit to address me, as well as for the warm welcome with which I have been received, together with my wife and the deputation that accompanies us.

Fifteen years ago, following an exemplary procedure, the Slovak Republic joined the concert of sovereign nations, such as is the path it has covered since then.

Internally, the Slovak Republic has consolidated the institutions of democracy and the bases of an open and dynamic market economy, capable to engender economic growth rates without equal in any other European country. Externally it achieved the objective of adherence to the European Union and to NATO, with a degree of success that causes the admiration of all its partners and of which its adherence to the Euro, in January 2009, is an emblematic symbol.

Excellency,

We always believed that the European Union would not make sense without the full integration of its members in Central and Eastern Europe. For exactly this reason we defended, from the very beginning, the process of enlargement.

We defended a European Project based upon the values of democracy, justice and fairness, which constitutes a guarantee of peace, stability and social and economic development.

A Project in which our people recognize themselves, that serves their interests, which effectively answers their concerns and anxieties, and allows them to take advantage of
new opportunities. A project which becomes real added value compared to the secluded defence of the national interests of each Member State and which allows the Union to speak in one sole voice when this is the path to achieve better results. A project which allows Europe to confidently assume its insertion in a global world.

These were the main principles with which Portugal guided the exercise of its Presidencies. These dictated our defence of an enlarged Schengen area, promoting the feeling of belonging to the Union; of a Cohesion Policy, which safeguards fairness in the construction of the Single Market; of a Lisbon Strategy, which provides Europe with the required means to face the challenges of our times; of an External and Common Security Policy that guarantees credibility to the position of the Union in the international scene.

We regard the Treaty of Lisbon as an essential contribution to ensure these objectives, allowing the Union to concentrate on material issues from which depend the future of its people.

Mister President,

The political relations between Portugal and the Slovak Republic are excellent, made easy by a communion of values and interests.

The two countries are, today, partners in NATO and in the European Union, where they frequently defend common positions, and already have a significant history of mutual support for the respective candidacies in International Organizations. The bilateral Agreements covered much diversified areas.

We thus have available the necessary bases for our political relationship to be reflected in an ever larger number of sectors, such as our economic and trade relations.

Portugal is involved in a paradigm of development based upon technological innovation, qualification of human resources and sustainable development. We have a growingly internationalized economy, with excellent contacts in the five continents, the result of an historical heritage with universal projection, from which we have also inherited the third most spoken language in the world, a heritage of more than 250 million people.

The Slovak Republic, in its turn, is a case of success in the transition to a market economy, and is an attractive centre for investment. Its fast economic and social development senses an equivalent evolution of its standards of demand, opening up a field of increase in trade exchange. The progress of its productive facilities reveals a need for the diversification of the markets of its enterprises, which would be made easier by setting up partnerships. Finally, its geographic location and the capacity of communication with its neighbours make the Slovak Republic a natural platform for the penetration of nearby markets.

The important entrepreneurial deputation which accompanies me and the programme of contacts to be held here reflects the interest that my country, the country of Portuguese entrepreneurs, has in exploring opportunities to increase investment flows, volume of trade and the setting up of partnerships, with a view to a joint activity in third markets.

The success of Portuguese enterprises in the Slovakian market will surely constitute a stimulus and an example.

It is thus necessary to rapidly stimulate cooperation between scientific and academic institutions, as well as the tourist flows between our two countries, in this latter case taking advantage of the wealth of the historical and cultural heritage and of the existing evident complementarities.

Mister President,

Cultural dimension is an indispensable angle in the approach between people.

The programme of my visit includes the launching of the first dictionary of the Slovakian and Portuguese languages, as well as the opening of an Exhibition of Contemporary Art which reveals new trends and Portuguese artists, and a Fado Concert by Mariza, a celebrated songstress who came in my retinue. I hope these initiatives will allow an approach between our people and stimulate the wish to further knowledge and cooperation.

I am certain that we will know how to avail ourselves of the opportunities which will be open to the bonds which link us, and I thus ask you all to join me in a toast to the health and personal happiness of President Ivan Gasparovic and his wife, to the friendly People of the Slovak Republic and to the future of the relations between our two countries.