By Ding Yi, Sun Xiyou

Slovakia will seek solutions to the ongoing global financial crisis together with the EU and China during the upcoming seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Beijing on October 24-25, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Although Slovakia is a small country in Europe, the government is willing to contribute its bit to tackling the financial crisis, Fico told Xinhua before his departure for the ASEM to be attended by leaders and delegates from 45 Asian and European countries and organizations.

"The summit in Beijing is very meaningful," Fico said, adding that China and the European Union (EU) could take the opportunity to find solutions to the spreading crisis.

It is highly necessary for the EU to communicate with the economically successful countries on the existing unresolved problems, Fico stressed.

He said if the EU is ready to support the proposed measures by some European countries to tackle the current financial problem, small countries like Slovakia should also be prepared to contribute and to back the business in their own countries.

"I think only very clever and pragmatic government can be successful," he said.

According to Fico, his government has the confidence to avoid the negative effects of the crisis and has already put forward a two-stage program.

In the first stage, the government will exert itself to curb the spread of the crisis, with the cabinet's effort to enhance the control and supervision over banks in Slovakia.

Residents' deposits will be 100 percent guaranteed, said Fico.

In the second stage, the government will double its efforts to boost economic growth, which is expected around 6.5 percent in 2009.

For concrete measures, the government will provide special financial support to small and medium-sized businesses to help them tide over the crisis. Meanwhile, it has blueprinted an ambitious project for the construction of expressways in the country.

"It is an obligation of the government to work out programs to help major business," Fico noted.

Slovakia will join the eurozone on January 1 next year. "We believe that it is advantageous," he said, adding that the advantages of the move outweigh its disadvantages.

As a member state of the EU and NATO, Slovakia concentrates on all the main international issues in regard to the EU, Fico said, pointing out that his country supports EU's common security foreign policy.

"We would like to develop relations with all countries that are ready to communicate with Slovakia," he added.

He stressed that despite the small size of his country, Slovakia's sticking to the independent foreign policy of peace and its decisions made on the basis of the international law will earn its respect in the world.

(Xinhua News Agency October 21, 2008)