Slovakia Elected as non-permanent member of UN Security Council

Slovakia was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council on Monday in New York together with Ghana, Qatar, Congo and Peru. Slovakia received 185 from 191 votes in the secret election, with six countries abstaining. Slovakia will serve a two year term from January 1, 2006 till December 31, 2007. Slovakia was the only candidate for the seat reserved for the East European regional group. The UN Security Council has five permanent members (Britain, China, France, Russia and the USA) and five non-permanent members.

Foreign Affairs Minister Eduard Kukan considers Slovakia's victory to be a success for Slovak diplomacy which managed to persuade UN members that our country is ready to take such important post. "I regard it as an appreciation of Slovakia's activities in UN peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. And also as an appreciation of Slovakia's political development," Kukan said. "Slovakia will be an active and constructive member of the UN Security Council. It will base its activities in the UN on democratic values and foreign policy priorities which our country follows as a European Union and NATO member," Kukan added.

President Ivan Gasparovic is glad that Slovakia has won the position of non-permanent member of UN Security Council for 2006-2007. "It's a great success and I thank all those who contributed to this success," the president told journalists on Monday. It is of great importance for us in terms of foreign policy, since the UN Security Council is the most important body in terms of influencing peace and security in the world," Gasparovic said. According to the head of state, it will be beneficial to Slovakia and its citizens if Slovak politicians are at the source of information on the solutions of the world's security problems.