Йозеф Мигаш. Скриншот эфира "Беларусь 1"
Slovakia is interested in developing relations with Belarus and hopes to expand cooperation in various areas, Slovak Ambassador to Belarus Jozef Migaš said during the “Memory Without Borders” conference held in Brest, the state news agency BelTA reported.
According to the diplomat, cooperation should be developed not only at the level of central governments but also between regions.
“I am very pleased that a delegation from Slovakia, from the city of Vranov nad Topľou, is here with me. It is Brest’s sister city. I highly appreciate this. We want our relations to become much, much stronger, better and more productive — in trade, foreign commerce, cultural and sporting ties, and tourism. After all, the Brest Fortress is magnificent, and there is much to show our people. They now demand to be told the truth,” Migaš said.
According to him, the Slovak side is pleased to welcome Belarusians and is working to make it easier for Belarusian citizens to obtain visas.
“We are doing everything we can to simplify the visa process so that people come to our country not only in winter to go skiing, but also in summer. We have a wonderful country, mountains and nature. All of this definitely needs to be revived,” the diplomat stressed.
The ambassador also described Brest as an important link in cooperation between the two countries.
“In fact, I come to Brest twice a month for various events. The main thing is that tourist groups have started coming, your sports teams travel to Slovakia, and ours come here. Young people can do a great deal to prevent division. There is no reason, honestly speaking, to look at each other with hostility and become enemies. That is unacceptable. Belarus, especially Brest, is the gateway from the post-Soviet space to Europe, including Slovakia. We are very interested in this corridor,” he said.
Migaš also pointed to obstacles affecting cooperation.
“Our delegations arrived a few days ago. Unfortunately, they had to spend a long time waiting at the border and lost valuable time, when they needed to come here and work for the benefit of Belarus and Slovakia,” he said.