After five years of existence, the foreign policy of the Slovak Republic has its content shaped and tools for the achievement of set goals defined. Slovakia's main foreign policy priorities are full membership of the EU, NATO and OECD as early as possible.
The priority objective of each state is to secure its interests, which have implicit security, political and economic requirements. Today, such priorities reflect the continuing opening of societies and globalisation trends in the world. The community of western and central European countries is coping with these trends by means of its own integration, with regard to all three above-mentioned requirements. It is only natural that the Slovak Republic strives to catch up with this integration development in order to secure its own development and prosperity.
The activities of the Slovak foreign service have always been based on a sound evaluation of starting-points and possibilities for the role of Slovakia in an integrating Europe. During the historic NATO and EU summits in 1997, the member-states of these groupings decided to enlarge towards the reforming countries of central and eastern Europe. The Slovak Republic has actively supported the inclusiveness and openness of these processes. For the Slovak Republic, this means that although it was not included in the first round of NATO enlargement and the so-called "first group" of EU-associated countries in 1997, a solid foundation to achieve these goals soon has been established.
Each country tries to secure its national interests, but today it is necessary to take different approaches and principles to achieve them than was the case at the beginning of this century. The zero-sum-game principle so typical of the Cold War period has been replaced with the principle of the sustainable development of a broader community of nations in a given region. Slovakia, with its location in the geographic centre of Europe and in the political centre of central and eastern Europe, has a vital interest in the co-operation of this whole region and its linking with the countries of the EU.
The Slovak-Irish relationship is characterised by both sides as very good. Slovakia perceives Ireland to be an important source of information and experience for the accession and adaptation process gained during EU accession. In addition to our common interests in European integration, both our nations are linked together by their Celtic heritage and the deep roots of the Christian faith. The division of Europe during the Cold War resulted in a substantial weakening of mutual contact.
We greatly appreciated therefore, that after the fall of the totalitarian regimes in central and eastern Europe, Alexander Dubcek, a significant person in our history, was awarded an honorary doctorate at Trinity College in 1991. After the materialisation of the Slovak peoples' national emancipation efforts in the Slovak Republic in 1993, Irish-Slovak relations started to develop almost from scratch. We were lacking intergovernmental agreements on mutual economic co-operation, which are now being prepared. The Slovak Republic is interested in the intensification of economic and trade co-operation. In 1997, mutual trade achieved the level of £27 million, but this volume is not a real reflection of the dynamism of our both economies.
A common endeavour to ensure its growth is therefore needed. Currently, several co-operation projects are being successfully implemented, for example, in the banking sector and foreign trade. The growth of mutual relations on the official and first of all unofficial level, however, proves that the Slovaks and the Irish are close. Today, the Slovak Republic is making a historic contribution to a better understanding and deepening of our multi-faceted co-operation by opening its embassy in Dublin.
The accession of Ireland to the European Community in 1973 presented hope and challenge. The Slovak Republic's efforts to integrate with the EU are an expression of belonging to a community of the most developed democracies and the human values it represents. Slovakia, like other reform countries, is going through a difficult transition process, not only in economy but mainly in its society. We look for support and understanding for our problems among our friends. We know, however, that their resolution is only in our hands.