Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico met with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang at an investment summit in Bucharest on Tuesday, whereby he suggested that, “In order to make Slovakia attractive for Chinese investments, it would be good if the branch of a Chinese bank were set up”.
He then added that his Chinese counterpart has promised to look into the issue as soon as possible. Fico also presented an official proposal for China to set up a permanent Chinese office for the support of foreign trade in Slovakia. “They said that it's an issue that is being considered, and that they'll certainly place an office like this in Europe. If it were in Slovakia, it'd be very good”, said the Prime Minister. He added that Chinese entrepreneurs are very interested in investing in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) projects concerning infrastructure, energy and the environment. At the summit, Fico invited Li Keqiang to visit Slovakia in 2014 which should be accompanied by a Slovak-Chinese business forum.
