Fico visits Trump in Mar-a-Lago, Slovakia signs nuclear deal with USA

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico visited US President Donald Trump at his Florida residence Mar-a-Lago during a visit to the US to sign a civil nuclear cooperation deal between Slovakia and the US.

As bne IntelliNews covered last week, Fico has reiterated that his government is pursuing close cooperation with the US on a new reactor at the site of the existing Jaslovské Bohunice nuclear power plant (NPP). At the end of 2024, Fico’s cabinet announced plans to launch a new nuclear tender.

“Both countries are fully aware that solutions to serious energy challenges are not possible through wind mills or photovoltaic, but that the base for the future is a sharp development of nuclear energy,” Fico said during the visit to the US in a statement shared on his Facebook social media profile.

Fico and his left-right cabinet has maintained a sharply critical stance towards EU green policies accompanied by Kremlin-pleasing stance since Fico’s return to power in 2023.

The Slovak press agency TASR noted that US Foreign Secretary Marco Rubio and his Slovak counterpart Juraj Blanár were present at the Mar-a-Lago meeting. Slovak Minister of Economy Denisa Saková also posed for photos at Mar-a-Lago, which were shared on Fico’s Facebook profile.  

The Slovak strongman described the talk with Trump as “informal and open” and that their discussion focused on “Ukraine, where American representatives were interested in our stance, because they knew we are not Brussels parrots and we express our own views on the war in Ukraine”. 

Fico said he “declared the Slovak peace stance” in connection to “other sensitive international events” and “there was full agreement in viewing the EU as an institution in deep crisis”. 

“The trip to the USA was another success of ours, as was the case with visits to Russia, China, and many other countries,” Fico stressed, praising the foreign policies of his government, which face criticism from the liberal opposition in Bratislava who have accused him of orienting Slovak diplomacy towards autocrats. 

Fico’s visit comes just weeks after Trump invited Fico to the White House to sign an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) on nuclear cooperation under which Slovakia is expected to select American technology for the new nuclear investment. The two national conservative leaders have also exchanged praiseful remarks of each other.

“Under your leadership, Slovakia has become a global leader in nuclear power,” Trump stated in the invitation letter, which Fico shared on Facebook.

The Jaslovské Bohunice site already has two reactors, and the new reactor is expected to cost between €10bn and €15bn. 

Fico said last year he hopes US Westinghouse company will cooperate with Russia on further development of nuclear sources in Slovakia. During the interview for commercial television TA3 last week, Fico noted that cooperation with Russia on the nuclear investment would have been his first choice if there were no sanctions against Russia in place.