The European Union remains the priority for Slovak exports and economic diplomacy in the next five-year period, according to the latest guidelines issued by the government. 85.2 percent of commodities exported by Slovakia right now are bound for EU markets and more than 66.1 percent of imports originate from there.
Among the further goals of Slovak economic diplomacy are countries situated in the proximity of the EU, including the Balkans, the CIS, Eastern Partnership states and selected countries to the south of the EU borders. There has been a dip in trade with Russia and other countries of the Eurasian Economic Union in the wake of the annexation of Crimea by Russia.
Economic diplomacy should also focus on countries with strong R&D potential: the US, Japan, Israel, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey, EU countries, especially Germany, the Nordic countries and China. This area also opens up scope for closer cooperation between the V4 group of countries, including Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland with third parties, the economic diplomacy guidelines say.
Ľubomír Koršňák, Chief Analyst of UniCredit bank believes that Slovak exports could be affected by Brexit. "Slovak exports could suffer if consumer demand fell in the UK. Slovak vehicle and TV set manufacturers would probably be the worst hit " Koršňák told RSI.
