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RIYADH: Ministers from Slovakia praised the Kingdom’s growth and discussed areas of possible future cooperation during a traditional Saudi dinner hosted on the sidelines of the World Defense Show in Riyadh.

Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Robert Kalinak told Arab News: “I have been really looking forward to this visit. �������� has become a leader in the region — not only the region, but this part of the world, presenting stability, presenting peace, and especially development.”

Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said: “I am honored to be (part of) the first official delegation from Slovakia to be here. It’s a big honor for me and my colleague, the minister of defense.”

Kalinak and Sutaj Estok visited the Kingdom with their delegation on Saturday.

The dinner was hosted at a private resort by Abdulrahman Al-Otaishan — a Saudi businessman and friend of Slovakia’s Embassy — who showcased traditional cuisine and culture.

Al-Otaishan said he was honored to host the delegation and he was later named an honorary consul of Slovakia.

Kalinak said: “Today we have a new honorary consul in ��������. He has visited Slovakia many times so he knows Slovakia really well. He’s ��������n so this is a great idea of how we can further develop our relations.”

The defense minister said that naming an honorary consul from �������� was another step toward strengthening relations between the two countries.

Sutaj Estok said: “We are at the beginning of something huge. I’m not afraid to say that this will be something huge and if you invest at the beginning it’s always better.

“There are a lot of beautiful people, (a) very friendly atmosphere, and I think this country has a lot of potential to grow, and from what I have seen until now I would like to come here (again).”

He added: “People that I met here are very similar to people in Slovakia: they are friendly and open-hearted.

“I have the feeling that I have been here for many years. This is very strange for me because we are absolutely different countries in a cultural way, but very close in the human way and I am very happy about this.”

Kalinak expressed his hope that the relationship between the countries will grow in future years.

He said: “I think we have a lot of space for collaboration and to develop new products.

“We would like to create a new relationship because there are some gaps in cooperation between our part of Europe and ��������.”