Outgoing Slovak Representative to Taiwan Martin Podstavek was on Tuesday awarded a state honor in recognition of his efforts to bolster bilateral relations during his five-year tenure, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
In a ceremony at the ministry’s Taipei headquarters, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) presented the Grand Medal of Diplomacy to Podstavek, head of the Slovak Economic and Cultural Office Taipei, which represents Slovakian interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
Since assuming office in 2017, Podstavek has played a significant role in furthering the relationship between Taiwan and Slovakia in a range of areas, Tseng said during the ceremony.
Photo: CNA
The two countries have since 2017 become close partners sharing democratic values, and are, hand-in-hand, facing the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tseng added.
Over the past few years, relations between Taiwan and Slovakia have reached new heights, following Bratislava’s donation of 160,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan last year, and the visits of Slovak State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy Karol Galek and Slovak National Council Deputy Speaker Milan Laurencik to Taiwan, he said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) in October last year visited Slovakia, where he delivered a public address, he said.
Tseng highlighted the joint efforts of Podstavek and his wife, Chen Liang Podstavek (梁晨), in promoting language and cultural exchanges between Taiwan and Slovakia.
He said the envoy has laid a solid foundation for mutually beneficial relations between the two sides.
Podstavek called Taiwan a beacon of democracy, saying that despite the great geographical distance between the two nations, both have undergone similar processes of democratization.
Taiwan is a trustworthy friend of Slovakia, and Taipei and Bratislava have helped each other during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
He also thanked Taiwan for donating US$2.5 million to Slovakia to help Ukrainian refugees in his country.
A number of bilateral economic and judicial agreements, and memorandums of understanding were signed during his tenure, Podstavake said.
Podstavek said he is leaving with fond memories of Taiwan.
Ceremonies for outgoing ambassadors and foreign representatives are usually hosted by the nation’s foreign minister, but Wu was unable to attend the event as he is quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday last week.
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