Foreign Policies

Poland and Slovakia Sign Letter of Intent to Establish Defence Cooperation

From left, Poland's Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and his Slovak counterpart Robert Kalinak (stock photo by TASR)

        Nowa Deba, 7 September (TASR) - On Monday in Nowa Deba, in Podkarpackie province, Slovakia and Poland signed a letter of intent to establish bilateral cooperation under the SAFE initiative, which is intended to set out the future direction in the field of security and the defence industry, TASR has learnt from its special correspondent in Warsaw, who referred to a post on X by the Polish Defence Ministry.
        It was signed by Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) on behalf of Slovakia and by Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz on the Polish side.
        According to Kosiniak-Kamysz, the cooperation covers two areas, including ammunition and the SAN programme, which focuses on defence against drones. The Polish minister highlighted Slovakia's manufacturing capacity, experience and know-how in the field of ammunition production. "Slovakia has been known for many years as a manufacturer of ammunition, with a particular focus recently on 155-millimetre calibre ammunition," he wrote.
        Kalinak was the guest of honour at a demonstration in Nowa Deba showcasing the integrated operations of the 18th Mechanised Division's combat group. According to him, Poland is currently a leader in the modernisation of its armed forces in Europe.
        Minister Kalinak also stated that Slovakia wishes to contribute to the security of its closest neighbours and highlighted Poland's anti-drone defence. "There are a huge number of proposals in anti-drone protection, but it appears that the SAN system is one of the answers," said the Slovak defence minister regarding the Polish system.
        Kosiniak-Kamysz thanked Slovakia for providing Poland with recently purchased radars to protect its airspace as part of NATO's Operation Eastern Sentry. At the same time, on behalf of the Polish government, he reaffirmed Poland's commitment to fulfil all obligations arising from the North Atlantic Treaty, in particular Article 5.
        "We'll defend all Alliance countries if they are threatened in any way, and we expect reciprocity. I can confirm Slovakia's reciprocity today," he added.

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