Kazakhstan is grateful to former ambassador for contribution to development of friendship and cooperation with Slovakia

BRATISLAVA, December 23, 2021 – Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Bratislava Roman Vassilenko today presented the first Slovak ambassador to Kazakhstan Dušan Podhorský with the medal “30 years of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan”.

On behalf of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the country’s leadership, Roman Vassilenko expressed gratitude for the rich and fruitful work of Dušan Podhorský in our country in 2005-2011, which made it possible to achieve high results in the development of bilateral relations.

In particular, with his active participation, a Kazakh-Slovak intergovernmental commission on economic, scientific and technical cooperation was created. Thanks to his efforts, the volume of bilateral trade at one time increased manifold, and Kazakh oil was supplied to Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline. The ambassador actively promoted the principles of green energy, participated in the preparation of the draft law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on renewable energy, and contributed to the development of nuclear medicine in Kazakhstan, in particular, in the diagnostic centre in the then Astana. Later, thanks to his efforts, 35 Kazakh doctors were trained in Bratislava to work with a positron emission tomograph, which makes it possible to diagnose cancer at an early stage.

On personal initiative and thanks to the many years of efforts of Dušan Podhorský, who by that time had already left the post of ambassador, the second solar power plant in the CIS was built in the town of Saran, Karaganda region with a capacity of 100 megawatts. The commissioning of this power plant ensured the fulfilment of strategic plans to increase the share of alternative energy.

Dušan Podhorský with great affection shared his memories of working in Kazakhstan, of meetings with the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and of friendly relations with many people that continue to this day. He spoke about how he had established the Slovak embassy in our capital, which in the beginning consisted of three employees – an ambassador, a secretary and a driver, – about how he worked “from morning to night seven days a week, including from Monday to Friday as a diplomat, and from Friday to Sunday as a lecturer in six universities in Kazakhstan”, teaching disciplines in which he was known as a renowned scientist, founder of radar and satellite meteorology and former chairman of the Slovak State Standard.

During the years of Dušan Podhorský’s work in Kazakhstan, productive visits of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev to Slovakia and President of Slovakia Ivan Gašparovič to Kazakhstan took place, seven intergovernmental agreements were signed, as well as ten agreements on cooperation between the universities in the two countries. It is no coincidence that four Kazakh universities had awarded Dušan Podhorský an honorary doctorate.

Dušan Podhorský expressed sincere gratitude for the high assessment of his contribution to the development of relations and warmly congratulated the people and leadership of Kazakhstan on the 30th anniversary of independence. He emphasized the great potential for cooperation with Slovakia and expressed readiness to continue to provide all possible assistance in the implementation of new joint projects between the two countries.

In Kazakhstan, many remember the former ambassador thanks to his willingness to generously share his knowledge and experience and contribute to the development of friendly mutually beneficial relations between Kazakhstan and Slovakia. Currently, Professor Dušan Podhorský, despite his venerable age, continues to work and is an honorary member of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.