President Ivan Gasparovic feels that the new government in Slovakia will improve tense relations with Hungary. He pointed out, though, that the tensions between the two countries were due to ethnic minority issues, and that the countries co-operate well in the areas of economics, foreign affairs and investments, among others.
The President recently blamed the problems concerning the Hungarian minority in Slovakia on the current and previous Hungarian governments, as they treated the SMK party (Hungarian Coalition Party) in Slovakia as their negotiating partner instead of the Slovak government.
President Gasparovic also mentioned that he had invited his new Hungarian counterpart Pal Schmitt for an official visit to Slovakia, but with no reply as yet. The presidents of the Visegrad 4 (Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic) are set to meet near the end of the year.