Albares reaffirms Spain's commitment to the eastern flank to his Slovakian counterpart

Meeting between the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, and his Slovak counterpart, Juraj Blanár

At the meeting, the minister reaffirmed the good relations between the two countries, especially in the field of security and defence, with our country's firm commitment on the eastern flank. Spain has, in fact, its largest deployment in a foreign country in Slovakia. The EU agenda and international issues were other topics discussed at the meeting.

Security in the East

The two ministers were able to discuss security and defence, an area in which the good bilateral relationship between the two countries stands out. In the framework of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence in Eastern Europe, Spain is the lead nation in the multinational brigade in Slovakia. This is the largest Spanish deployment abroad, with 828 Spanish Army troops at the Lest and Kuchyma bases, and it also has heavy equipment.

Bilateral relations

In economic terms, Spanish companies established in Slovakia operate mainly in the automotive and infrastructure sectors. On this point, Albares recalled the importance of the recent agreement signed between the Ministries of Transport of the two countries to promote cooperation in this area.

On the other hand, Spanish is well established as a foreign language in the Slovakian education system. And our country is among the favourite destinations for Erasmus students from Slovakia.

International affairs

The challenges facing the European Union and preparations for the next NATO summit, to be held in The Hague at the end of the month, were among the items on the European agenda discussed by ministers at the meeting.

On international issues, Albares and Blanár also discussed Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Non official translation