Czech, Slovak governments looking to strengthen ties

Trencin, West Slovakia, Oct 29 (CTK) - The Czech and Slovak governments want to promote cooperation between their countries in health care, education and the armed forces, this is said in a joint declaration that was signed at the end of their first joint meeting yesterday.

The two countries also want to coordinate their stands in foreign policy, says the declaration that the Czech and Slovak prime ministers, Petr Necas (Civic Democrats, ODS) and Robert Fico (Smer-Social Democracy), respectively, signed.

They also said in the document they support nuclear energy that they consider an important energy source.

"The prime ministers confirmed their interest in promoting Czech-Slovak cooperation in the spheres of strategic interest," the document says.

Members of the Czech and Slovak governments met in Uherske Hradiste, south Moravia, this morning and they moved to Trencin for the afternoon part of their meeting.

The two governments are also pushing for an improvement in emergency care in border areas via tightening cooperation between their health rescue services.

The governments also discussed possibilities of introducing a joint education space based on coordination of the standards of individual levels of the education system.

Necas said both governments debated cooperation in cargo railway transport, including a possible merger of the Czech and Slovak railway carriers. This idea was discussed in both countries in the past.

Fico added that the joint meeting also touched upon some Czech firms' interest in investing in energy companies in Slovakia.

In their joint statement, the Czech and Slovak governments supported the plan of the current Cypriot EU presidency to complete the talks on the EU long-term budget for 2014-2020 this year.

Prague and Bratislava stressed the key role of the EU cohesion policy.

"We are the countries that clearly support the policy of removing regional differences," Fico pointed out.

During the first part of the joint meeting in Uherske Hradiste, Necas and Fico discussed the progress in both countries militaries' cooperation towards the real sharing of capacities.

The Czech and Slovak defence ministers, Alexandr Vondra (ODS) and Martin Glvac, respectively, signed a protocol on the provision of military air operation.

Czech Transport Minister Pavel Dobes (LIDEM) and Slovak Environment Minister Peter Ziga signed an agreement on the prolonged navigability of the Otrokovice-Rohatec water ways, the Bata Canal, in the Czech-Slovak border area, which is one of the major tourist attractions in the Zlin and South Moravian regions.

Fico and Necas agreed that the joint meetings of the Czech and Slovak governments should become a tradition.

"We want this form of intergovernmental consultations to continue regularly, always in the autumn. We have preliminarily agreed that it will be alternatively in Slovakia and in the Czech Republic every other year with both governments fully represented," Necas said.

The joint meetings should take place outside the capitals of both countries in the future.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia formed Czechoslovakia from 1918 until end-1992 when the joint state split into the two republics.