Slovakia calls for synergy on eco-friendly vehicles

Slovakia’s finance minister called for cooperation with Korea in a wide-range of areas such as hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles and infrastructure, the government here said Tuesday.

Peter Kazimir made the comments in a meeting with his Korean counterpart Hong Nam-ki at the government complex building in central Seoul, calling Asia’s fourth-largest economy a very important country for Slovakia, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Hong asked Kazimir to provide support to Korean firms operating in Slovakia as he expressed hope for deepening economic cooperation between the two partners.

“The two sides deeply share the view of expanding economic cooperation in various areas,” the ministry said of the meeting.

Earlier this month, Korea said it will increase the number of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles to about 80,000 units by 2022 as part of a broader effort to give a boost to the “hydrogen economy.” Korea views the hydrogen economy as a new growth engine for its economy, which has relied heavily on semiconductors for decades.

Global carmakers have been racing to go eco-friendly amid tightened regulations on emissions of greenhouse gases, which scientists say are to blame for global warming.

A hydrogen fuel cell electric car emits only water vapor.

Yonhap