We continue negotiations on cooperation with sectoral ministries: meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic

The meeting took place at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic as part of negotiations by the intersectoral working group for critical infrastructure with representatives from the sections of agriculture, food industry and strategies, analyses and cross-cutting activities, and the crisis management department.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic is the central authority for the Food Production, Processing and Distribution sector, which includes essential services such as production, processing and distribution in the food industry, large-scale industrial food production and processing, food supply chain services, and wholesale food distribution.

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AKI, Matej Michalko, informed ministry representatives about the establishment of the association and its mission, emphasizing the connection between the public and private sectors in the field of critical infrastructure. He stated that the association is an independent interest association of legal entities, financed only by membership fees from its members and focused on developing the critical infrastructure ecosystem in Slovakia. Within the framework of informing about the association's activities, he emphasized that AKI perceives the issue of increasing costs for critical entities to ensure the resilience of critical infrastructure and essential services. In this context, the association is currently initiating negotiations with state authorities and the banking sector about the possibility of using European funds and preparing favorable bank loans for critical entities.

AKI representatives proposed cooperation with the ministry in the area of consultations with critical entities, in the area of threat, hazard and vulnerability analyses, and in the area of audits of the existing state of essential service provision and ensuring the resilience of critical entities, as well as the development of implementation projects for implementing measures to ensure the provision of essential services and resilience of critical entities. At the same time, they offered the ministry AKI's professional capacities in the area of expert opinions, information exchange, preparation of legislative proposals, education, as well as science and research projects.

Negotiations between the Critical Infrastructure Association of Slovakia and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic will continue toward concluding a memorandum of cooperation, which should create a basic framework for mutual systematic and long-term cooperation in the field of critical infrastructure in the food production, processing and distribution sector.