Location Bratislava On December 5, 2012, the representatives of SARIO participated in the 9th Slovak-Polish Economic Forum, which took place in Spišská Nová Ves under the auspices of the Ambassador of the Polish Republic to Slovakia, H.E. Andrzej Krawczyk and the Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Mr. Pavol Paška. The Forum was organized by the Tatry Region Association with headquarters in Kežmarok. The participating organizations operating in the field of economy and tourism, as well as the representatives of government and municipal agencies, entrepreneurs and professionals from both sides of the border were addressed by the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Warsaw, H.E. Vasil Grivna and the Head of the Economic Section of the Embassy of the Polish Republic in Bratislava, Mr. Stanisław Borek. Both underlined the ever-growing foreign trade turnover and development of economic cooperation between both countries. The 9th Slovak-Polish Economic Forum was attended by over 150 participants from various economic fields. Its focus laid in the areas of economy, transport and tourism, development of cooperation of Slovak and Polish companies, development of cross-border cooperation in our region, know-how exchange, promotion of region-specific development activities and networking. The first part of the Forum was dedicated to economic diplomacy and the possibilities of assistance for Slovak entrepreneurs using EU funds. The second part included information about the business forms of Slovak enterprises in Poland, as well as practical data on how to offer one’s services on the Polish market. The Head of SARIO`s Section of International Economic Cooperation, Mr. Michal Kardoš presented the activities of the agency, its services aimed at the promotion of SME exports, past and current activities within Poland, as well as the perspectives and development opportunities for mutual Polish-Slovak economic cooperation. Furthermore, the block included a presentation of Slovakia as a target tourist destination for the Polish market, promotion of Polish tourism in Slovakia, as well as interesting Polish-Slovak success story about the birth of the Asseco – the largest European IT company in Central and Eastern Europe. Today, Poland takes 3rd place as Slovakia’s foreign trade partner, with last year’s turnover exceeding EUR 6 bn. This year’s turnover will be even higher, since the first semester alone saw the number hit almost EUR 4 bn.
