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Slovak scientist searched for partners in the Netherlands

Location
Bratislava

Ivan Gasparovic, President of the Slovak Republic was during his official visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands (20 to 22 November 2012) which was organized by the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in The Hague, accompanied by Miroslav Lajčák, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the SR, Tomáš Malatinský, Minister of Economy of the SR and representatives of SARIO and Slovak innovative companies together with Slovak scientific research community.

 

Dutch Chamber of Commerce organized innovation seminar focused on presentation of achievements of Slovak R&Din order to find partners for industrial use. Dutch and Slovak seminar participants agreed that an important area for cooperation lies especially in the field of small and medium-sized enterprises. The workshop succeeded in creating environment for communication with Dutch central and local public administration, businesses, and research and development institutions. The event also hosted B2B meetings designed primarily for Slovak firms trying to penetrate to the Dutch market.

 

During the visit of the Dutch automotive cluster of VVT in Eindhoven, the Dutch delegation expressed interest to visit Slovak automotive cluster. Huge potential for cooperation with the Dutch side opens in the agriculture. The current Dutch legislation does not allow for the growth of domestic farms. This situation affects mainly well known farming area in the province of Noord-Brabant, which actively seeks cross-border investment opportunities primarily in Latin America and this area indicates the possibility for cooperation with Slovak companies in this field.

 

The highest state level visit reflects the high quality of relations between the Slovak Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Negotiations contributed to revitalizing relations, laid out new themes and identified joint projects in order to overcome the economic crisis. The important aim of the visit was to become familiar with the Dutch model of research and development management and the transformation to a knowledge-based economy linking education, science, research and industry.

 

The Netherlands is one of the most important export territories of the Slovak Republic, while it also represents our major partner in the inflow of foreign investment. Total foreign trade turnover between Slovakia and the Netherlands for the first half of 2012 exceeded the total amount of 1.061 billion Euros.