Today, with the participation of a representative Slovak parliamentary delegation led by the Speaker of the National Council (Parliament) Boris Kollár, the Honorary Consulate of that country was inaugurated in Almaty, El.kz cites MFA.
Chairwoman of the Committee on International Affairs, Defence and Security of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan Aigul Kuspan, Deputy of the Mazhilis Sergey Ponomarev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roman Vassilenko as well as the Slovak Ambassador to Kazakhstan Róbert Kirnág also attended the official ceremony.
Addressing the guests, Boris Kollár emphasized the importance of the opening of a Slovak honorary consulate in Almaty, a major financial, scientific, educational and tourist center in Kazakhstan. The Speaker also noted with satisfaction the growth of the bilateral trade to 166 million euros last year.
In turn, Aigul Kuspan noted that the symbolism of the opening of the Honorary Consulate is timed to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Slovakia (January 1, 1993). “The opening of the Honorary Consulate of Slovakia in Almaty is another important step in strengthening the traditionally friendly bilateral relations,” noted Kuspan also expressing pleasure at the dynamic growth of the bilateral inter-parliamentary cooperation.
Roman Vassilenko expressed hope the activities of the honorary consulate would contribute to the development and strengthening of the Kazakh-Slovak cooperation in areas such as culture, science, education, economy and trade. He specifically noted that around 30 companies with the Slovak participation already work successfully in Kazakhstan.
In turn, Honorary Consul Gulmira Tolganbayeva thanked the Kazakh and Slovak sides for their trust and assured of her readiness to actively participate in further strengthening trade and economic relations, building up business contacts between representatives of the business circles of the two countries, as well as developing cultural and humanitarian ties.
In addition to Almaty, the Slovak General Honorary Consulate and the Slovak Honorary Consulate work in Karagandy and Oskemen respectively.