There are other things, which are bringing together the two countries. For example, a strong business partnership. Slovakia is the second most important export country (after Germany) for the Czech Republic. And Slovak export is the same – 1st Germany, 2nd Czech Republic. Slovak businessmen are the second most frequent owners of Czech companies. And yet again, it is the same situation in Slovakia.
The President of the Chamber of Commerce, Vladimír Dlouhý, also describes the political and economic ties of both countries as very tight. “The Czech Republic and Slovakia are small, export-oriented open economies. And it is not only our state who profit from the close ties. Last year, we were the second largest export destination for Slovakia, after Germany, ” Dlouhý said.
However, according to economist Miroslav Zámečník, our eastern neighbors are more ambitious and willing to travel abroad, even though they are also bigger patriots. “Give them another ten or fifteen years without external shocks – and with a lot of talks in the Czech Republic about how we are going to leave the EU like Great Britain – and we can wake up to being a poor oddball in Bratislava,” said Zámečník.
