Huawei blocked from sponsoring defence summit in Nato’s Slovakia
- Conference host dropped pact with telecoms firm after Slovak president refused to speak at event
- Decision follows European tour by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who urged allies to shun technological partnerships with Chinese companies
Huawei Technologies was barred from sponsoring a defence summit in Nato member Slovakia after the country’s president briefly cancelled a speech over concerns the Chinese telecommunication company posed a security risk.
President Zuzana Caputova’s refusal to speak at the conference hosted by the Bratislava-based Globsec think tank is a victory for the US, which has been exhorting its allies to block Chinese companies from technology projects, including nuclear plants and 5G networks.
Caputova cancelled a speech she was due to give on Wednesday at the event, according to her spokesman, Martin Strizinec. Globsec then ended the sponsorship with Huawei, however, and she reverted to the original plan.
“The president sees speaking at a conference with such a company among sponsors as a bad signal,” Strizinec said by email. “For her, it isn’t only an issue of security, but also of principles and values.”
A spokeswoman for Huawei’s Slovak unit declined to immediately comment when reached by phone.
