Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď meets Greek Ambassador Athanasios Ioannou

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď received His Excellency Mr Athanasios Ioannou, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Hellenic Republic to Slovakia, at the Ministry of Defence in Bratislava on 9 March 2023. They discussed current bilateral defence cooperation as well as ways to deepen it. This marked Ambassador Ioannou's first visit to the MOD since taking up his Diplomatic Service appointment in Slovakia in December 2023.

Speaking about SVK-GRC ties, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: „We share common interests with Greece, whereas in the field of defence cooperation these are mostly related to trans-Atlantic security and NATO’s collective defence. We have been reliable partners to one another. Yet at the same time, we can see there is room to intensify our practical cooperation. If so, we could bring a new level of dynamics to our relations.“

The establishment of the Slovak Non-Resident Defence Attaché Office to Greece, which was set up in September 2022 in Athens, is the latest example of forging stronger ties, as Minister Naď put it, adding that the MOD has initiated a Memorandum of Defence Cooperation with Greece, which is likely to be signed still this year.

At the meeting with the head of the Greek Diplomatic Mission in Slovakia, the Defence Minister provided an update on how Slovakia is delivering on its EU and NATO commitments, including on the 2 per cent GDP spending pledge.

“The Ambassador and I also discussed the potential exchange of experience from training of personnel on the F-16 fighter jets and their operation, as well as our interest in sharing experience from military equipment procurement in order to benefit the Slovak Armed Forces’ modernisation needs,” Minister Naď concluded.