Defence Minister Naď meets new Swedish Ambassador Markovic for talks on quality and enhancement of defence and security cooperation

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď met the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Slovakia, Her Excellency Ms Annika Markovic at the Ministry of Defence today (11 January 2022). The discussion, which was the first opportunity for Ambassador Markovic to meet the Defence Minister since taking up her Diplomatic Service appointment, sought to explore bilateral cooperation between the countries and ways to take it forward into the future.

Speaking at the meeting, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “We appreciate the constructive relationship between our countries in the field of defence and security, which, combined with our similar perspectives, is a truly quality basis for building further cooperation. We sincerely welcome every initiative for a shift in our mutual politico-military dialogue and at the practical level, for example, in the training and education of military personnel.”

Minister Naď was appreciative of the bilateral meeting as preparations are now moving forward for his scheduled visit to the Kingdom of Sweden at the invitation of Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist.

On the occasion of their first bilateral meeting, Minister Naď introduced Ambassador Markovic to the MOD's priorities and ongoing modernisation programmes. Also discussed were options for defence industry support and international industrial cooperation with companies, whereas these aspects of common interest will be covered in depth by both national armaments directors (NADs) during their upcoming talks.