Preparations for the fourth joint sessions of the Slovak and Ukrainian governments were on the agenda of talks between Slovak Foreign Ministry State Secretary Marek Eštok and Ukrainian Ambassador to Slovakia Myroslav Kastran on Wednesday (28 October).
Like previous meetings in this format, the session is aimed at driving forward progress on specific projects and areas of cooperation, yielding positive outcomes for the people, businesses and regions of both countries, stated the ministry.
"Ukraine is Slovakia's neighbouring country, and so we're interested in maintaining pragmatic and friendly relations. Our aim is to strengthen bilateral cooperation, particularly in the border regions, where interaction between our citizens and businesses is most intense," stressed Eštok. At the same time, he confirmed that the Slovak government is paying due attention to the upcoming joint government session, with the Slovak delegation to be led by Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD).
Eštok outlined that the talks will focus on energy, trade, transport, infrastructure projects, education, European integration, Ukraine's reconstruction and Slovakia's ongoing aid. "We're preparing another package of humanitarian aid, which the premier will present during the joint government session. Slovakia continues to provide refuge to Ukrainian nationals who have been forced to leave their homes due to the war. There are currently more than 200,000 Ukrainians on our territory, putting us among the countries with the highest proportion in the EU," he said.
According to Eštok, Slovakia also supports Ukraine's EU-integration ambitions and its efforts to implement the necessary reforms and meet all the accession criteria that are essential for full-fledged EU membership. The enlargement process should be based on merit and the same rules for all candidate countries. In this regard, Slovakia is ready to share its experience of the EU-accession process with Ukraine.
The upcoming talks will build upon the third Slovak-Ukrainian joint government session, held in Kosice on 17 October 2025. Its result was an Enhanced Roadmap of Joint Activities, known as 'Roadmap 2.0'. The two governments signed an agreement on technical and financial cooperation, an agreement supplementing the agreement on the location and maintenance of diplomatic missions, an agreement on cooperation and information exchanges regarding labour mobility, and a protocol to the agreement on border crossing points. The fourth meeting will be an opportunity to assess the progress made so far and to discuss further concrete steps aimed at strengthening the bilateral partnership.
Source: TASR
