At the end of May we organized the eighth edition of the annual meeting of the Slovak defence and security community called “Together on Security and Defence”. The current edition looked back at the development of 30 years of Slovak security and defense policy and opened up current challenges for Slovakia, the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union not only in the context of the war in Ukraine.
The event was opened with speeches by ministers of key departments – Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the SR Miroslav Wlachovský and Minister of Defense of the SR Martin Sklenár. In addition to other distinguished guests, the former Minister of Defense of the SR Jaroslav Naď, members of the National Council of the SR and the Deputy Chief of the General Staff Maj. Gen. Peter Babiar also took the opportunity to participate within the conference.
The conference has traditionally provided a unique platform for open and stimulating discussions on current topics. The first panel discussion was entitled “Armed Forces post 2022” and was devoted to current issues of defense policy, especially in connection with the war in Ukraine and the new realities brought about by the conflict in the immediate neighborhood for the needs of adaptation and modernization of the army.
Discussants:
- Maj. Gen. Peter Babiar, Deputy Chief, General Staff, Slovak Armed Forces
- Martin Jakál, Director General, Human Resources Section, MoD SR
- Peter Kaľavský, Vice-Dean for Education, Faculty of Aeronautics, Technical University of Košice
The second discussion “Slovakia as a reliable ally” reflected on 30 years of defense and security policy, evaluated Slovakia’s path to Euro-Atlantic structures and the development in the perception of Slovakia as a reliable partner.
Discussants:
- Katarína Cséfalvayová, Director, Institute for Central Europe
- Marian Majer, State Secretary, MoD SR
- veľvyslanec Róbert Ondrejcsák, Ambassador, Slovak Embassy in UK
In an informal breakfast discussion entitled “What next, Slovakia?” MPs and politicians discussed current issues and the direction of foreign, defense and security policy.
Discussants:
- Ivan Bilohuščin, Team Leader for Defence, Political Party SaS
- Martin Klus, Member of Parliament, NC SR
- veľvyslanec Tomáš Valášek, Member of Parliament, NC SR
Conclusions from the conference in Slovak language are available for download here.
