The Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic continue their intensive political dialogue and the development of superior bilateral relations based on historical closeness, trust and active cooperation. This was stated by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Marek Eštok, who held bilateral political consultations with Czech partners on May 21-22, 2026 in Prague.
During the negotiations with the Statutory Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jiří Brodský, Deputy Maria Chatardová and Deputy Radko Augustin, the partners appreciated the exceptional level of Slovak-Czech relations and confirmed their interest in continuing their further development. “Our countries are united not only by a common history, but above all by an extremely strong partnership based on trust, natural closeness and regular cooperation at all levels,” declared State Secretary Marek Eštok.
At the same time, he added that it is an impetus for strengthening bilateral relations there is also a memorandum on enhanced cooperation signed by the prime ministers of both states at the next joint meeting of governments on March 31, 2026. An important topic of the negotiations was regional cooperation within the framework of the Slavkov format (S3) and the Vyšehrad Group (V4). In this context, the partners discussed the current presidency of the Slovak Republic in S3, which will last until the end of June 2026, as well as preparations for the Slovak presidency in V4, which the Slovak Republic will take over from Hungary in July 2026.
“This will be Slovakia’s seventh presidency of the Vyšehrad Group, while we are currently in the final phase of preparing its program. As a priority, we want to focus on current European issues where we share common views with our partners – from competitiveness and the future EU budget to energy, agriculture or the fight against illegal migration,” informed M. Eštok.
Current European topics were discussed by the State Secretary of Slovak Diplomacy with Milena Hrdinková, Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic for European Union Affairs. “We have maintained very close coordination with the Czech Republic on European issues for a long time. We discussed in particular the strengthening of competitiveness and the preparation of the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework for the years 2028-2034, while we again agreed on the need to maintain a strong cohesion policy,” stated Marek Eštok, stating that both parties confirmed their common interest in actively contributing to the search for functional and balanced European solutions.
As part of the work program, the State Secretary of Slovak Diplomacy honored the memory of Czechoslovak diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Masaryk in the premises of the Černín Palace – the seat of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, he visited the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Prague, as well as the Slovak Institute in Prague, where he discussed with the employees the activities of Slovak diplomacy and the presentation of the Slovak Republic in the Czech Republic. TASR was informed about this by the communication department of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic.
