oportunities to involve Slovak entrepreneurs in development projects were the topic of today’s international EU Global Gateway event, which took place in Bratislava with the participation of Maroš Šefčovič, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Juraj Blanár, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Denisa Saková, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic, Rastislav Podhorc, CEO and Member of the Board of Eximbank, experts from international and national institutions and dozens of representatives of the business sector. The EU’s Global Gateway strategy aims to mobilise more than €300 billion of investment through a “Team Europe“approach, bringing together EU institutions, Member States and their financial and development institutions, including Slovakia.
The EU Global Gateway Strategy serves to promote and strengthen clean and secure infrastructure in the energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education, research and digitalisation systems around the world.
“We have been facing urgent global challenges in recent years, and this EU initiative is designed to help increase and strengthen our competitiveness, secure supply chains in the fight against climate change, energy security, the transition to green technologies or improve healthcare systems.” said Maroš Šefčovič, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission.
“We have been members of the European Union for 20 years now,” added the head of Slovak diplomacy, adding that Slovakia has continued to support developing countries since its inception. Slovakia is a success story and we are part of the European family, which automatically makes us part of the European official development cooperation policies and through various financial mechanisms. We have so far contributed almost two billion euros to bilateral and multilateral projects. The Global Gateway strategy incorporates new comprehensive and creative solutions in the European Union’s approaches. They are aimed at meeting the Sustainable Development Goals as one of the Union’s fundamental political strategic objectives. We want to be active in helping to achieve this. We are also aware that it is a tool to address the migration crisis and our interventions can also help to address the unflattering situation in many third countries,” added Juraj Blanár, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic.
The EU Global Gateway is the EU’s contribution to alleviating the global investment shortage, while also serving as a supportive tool for geopolitical competition (especially from China and the US). The strategy is very much aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and is in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The EU Global Gateway thus represents a synergy between meeting the EU’s development objectives and strengthening the competitiveness of EU companies in third country markets.
“I consider it extremely important that Slovak companies find their place in a transforming economy. I am also convinced that Slovak companies will be able to participate effectively in the programmes through which the European Union wants to demonstrate its assistance, but also its geopolitical presence in regions around the world,” said Denisa Saková, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic.
“Eximbanka is ready to provide Slovak entrepreneurs with financing options to support their involvement in “flagship” projects through its product portfolio. Already at this moment I can state from the preliminary results of our monitoring and also from the demand of exporters that the unsaturated markets of Africa, Asia and Latin America are increasingly in the crosshairs of Slovak exporters. Eximbanka is of course ready to support their viable projects. Although the implementation of the strategy is in its early stages, I believe that in the foreseeable future we will see the successful involvement of Slovak exporters in the EU Global Gateway,” concluded Rastislav Podhorec, CEO and Member of the Board of Eximbanka.
The Global Gateway is being rolled out as part of the “Team Europe” approach with the European Commission, the European, EU Member States, as well as financial institutions, the private sector and other NGOs. This approach is intended to support implementation, mobilising the responsible policy structures, but also integrating technical expertise and the necessary financial resources at the largest possible scale. The EU Global Gateway Agenda in Slovakia is covered bythe Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic as coordinator and Eximbank and the Slovak Agency for International Development Cooperation as implementing agencies.
What opportunities does the EU Global Gateway provide for Slovak companies?
- Opportunity to enter developing markets with support from common EU budgetary resources.
- The potential to succeed in global competition, to gain new partnerships and to engage, for example through subcontracting, and also the space to reach remote and hard-to-reach territories.
- Opportunity to get structured support and to implement sustainable projects in developing countries.
- The opportunity to benefit from a combination of support through the standard Eximbank portfolio, using EU support instruments, active support of economic diplomats of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic with local partners directly in the selected territories and the Slovak Agency for International Development Cooperation in the field of development cooperation.
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ABOUT EXIMBANK SR
As the only direct instrument of the state for export financing, EXIMBANKA SR is an important part of the chain responsible for promoting the country’s economic policy in the field of external economic relations. It is an important instrument of state support for exports in the field of financing, provision of guarantees and insurance of credit risks. It offers a wide range of export-related financial products, in particular credit insurance, financing and guarantees. As a state export credit agency, it enables Slovak exporters to enter into trade and investment relations where the commercial financial sector is less interested in taking on risk and therefore performs a complementary function.
Photo source: Eximbanka (photographer: Lukáš Latečka)
