PAVOL HRUSOVSKY VISITS PITTBURGH

Pavol Hrusovsky, Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, along with 16 other Slovak dignitaries, visited Pittsburgh for a full day of planned activities. Included in the entourage were Mr. Hrusovsky's wife, Helena, Viliam Veteska, Vice Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and Slovak Ambassador Rastislav Kacer and his wife, Otilia.

The day's activities included a luncheon at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, followed by a "Visa Waiver" roundtable. Immediately following the roundtable the visitors were given a bus tour of Pittsburgh. The day was concluded with an evening reception hosted by U.S. Steel, with over 100 guests attending. During the reception, Joseph Senko, treasurer of Friends of Slovakia, presented Mr. Hrusovsky with a "Medal of Honor".

The roundtable was the highlight of the visit. The purpose of the "Visa Waiver" roundtable was to make people aware of the requirements for a Visa Waiver Program and encourage them to help Slovakia to be included among the Visa Waiver countries. Presently, all Slovaks wishing to come to the United States must obtain a visa from the U.S. Embassy.

The Visa Waiver Program enables nationals of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. The program was established in 1986 with the objective of promoting better relations with U.S. allies, eliminating unnecessary barriers and stimulating the tourism industry.

Currently, 27 countries participate in the Visa Waiver Program. Most European Union countries are members of the program. In 2004, 10 new countries became members of the EU, including the Slovak Republic. From this group of the new EU members, only Slovenia is currently participating in the Visa Waiver Program. Several other new EU member countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, have launched an initiative to open a discussion process with the U.S., which they hope will lead towards a nomination for the Visa Waiver Program membership.

The Visa Waiver Program Nomination Process is a lengthy and complex undertaking, which involves several U.S. Federal agencies and results in final approval by the U.S. Attorney General, based on a consultation with the U.S. Secretary of State.

A country can be nominated to begin the approval process if it meets the following three conditions:

Has a refusal rate of less than 3 percent for its citizens who apply for nonimmigrant visas;
Can supply machine-readable passports to its citizens or is in the process of developing such passports; and
Offers visa-free travel for U.S. citizens. Currently, Slovakia meets the last two conditions for the Visa Waiver Program Nomination Process.

The "Visa Waiver" roundtable took place at the University of Pittsburgh on September 10, 2005. The federal, state and county government sent representatives to participate. Speaking on behalf of the Slovak government in favor of the waiver were Pavol Hrusovsky, Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic; Viliam Veteska, Vice Chairman of the Council of the Slovak Republic; and Rastislav Kacer, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the United States; and John Goodish, former President of U.S. Steel-Kosice. Mr. Goodish spoke to the audience in favor of the waiver. In his remarks, he urged all Slovak-Americans to write to their U.S. congressman asking that visas for Slovaks coming to the U.S. be waived.

SECRETARY FEDOR SPEAKS ON MILITARY MODERNIZATION

The FOS Dinner with Martin Fedor, Slovak State Secretary for Defense, on Thursday evening, September 15 was a great success. The dinner was held at Teatro Goldoni Restaurant which prepared a wonderful meal for the guests. Approximately 18 people attended the dinner, including representatives from Boeing, Raytheon, and U.S. Steel. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and the Duetto Group had planned to attend, but scheduling conflicts prevented them from doing so.

Bill Tucker, Vice Chairman of FOS, welcomed the guests on behalf of the Board of Directors and made brief comments about FOS and the FOS Black-Tie Gala dinner being planned for November 9, 2005 in Bratislava. The dinner was also attended by Board members Ambassador Ted Russell, John Miller and Scott Salmon.

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon were the evening's corporate sponsors.

Ambassador Russell introduced State Secretary Fedor who presented an excellent briefing on the future plans for modernization of the Slovak military. A lively question and answer period followed Fedor's remarks. A number of comments on the excellent level of U.S.-Slovak relations was also made by the dinner guests. Col. Miroslav Giertli, Defense Attaché, and Miroslav Wlachovsky, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Slovak Embassy expressed their thanks and appreciation for FOS's organization of the dinner and are looking forward to the Slovak Defense Industry Day in November with participants from the Slovak and U.S. defense industries.

GALA DINNER IN BRATISLAVA TO TAKE PLACE ON NOVEMBER 9

Plans for the November 9 Friends of Slovakia (FOS) gala dinner to be held at the SAS Radisson Carlton Hotel in Bratislava are well underway and we look forward to reporting on the event in our next newsletter. The dinner is being chaired by Bill Tucker, Vice Chairman of Friends of Slovakia.

Lord George Robertson, the immediate past secretary general of NATO will deliver the keynote address, together with John Surma, President & CEO of U.S. Steel. Other honored guests will include Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic, Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda and Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Pavol Hrusovsky. Also expected to attend are Slovak Ambassador to the U.S. Rastislav Kacer, U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia Rodolphe "Skip" Vallee, U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE Julie Finley, and a number of Slovak cabinet ministers and prominent executives from the private sector in Slovakia.

The following three awards will be presented at the 2005 dinner to some very distinguished recipients.

Politics and Diplomacy Award
Business and Economics Award
Culture and Sports Award

Planning for the gala dinner has proceeded over the past several months with the assistance of members of the organizing committee. The co-chairs of the organizing committee are Russell E. Preston of the Boeing International Corporation, Milan Filo of Eco-Invest, a.s. and David Lohr, U.S. Steel Kosice s.r.o. In addition, representatives from the following companies make up the members of the organizing committee: Business Communication LLC, Castor & Pollux, City University, Eli Lilly Slovakia, Enel SpA, GAMO, a.s., Gratex International, Hewlett-Packard Slovakia, L'Oreal Slovensko, Microsoft Slovakia, Oracle Slovakia, Philip Morris Slovakia, SAP Slovensko, Slovak Telecom, Slovnaft, Sun Microsystems Slovakia, T-Mobile Slovensko, Tatra banka and Zapadoslovenska energetika.

President Gasparovic, Prime Minister Dzurinda and Chairman of the National Council, Pavol Hrusovsky, have agreed to serve as honorary dinner chairmen. The Honorary Ambassadorial Committee for the dinner is co-chaired by Rastislav Kacer, Slovak Ambassador to the U.S., Rodolphe Vallee, U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia and Julie Finley, Ambassador of the United States to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Ambassador Finley is also a member of the FOS Board of Advisors.

Anyone interested in attending the FOS Gala Dinner in Bratislava can consult the FOS website for more information (www.friendsofslovakia.org) or contact Bill Tucker, tuckintl@radix.net

SLOVAK EXCHANGE STUDENT HELPED BY FOS

Friends of Slovakia awarded its second scholarship to help support a Slovak student for summer study in the US to Martin Mikolas. Martin completed a Master of Arts in International Relations and Economic Diplomacy at the Faculty of International Relations at the University of Economics in Bratislava. He also received a certificate in European Law and Economics at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. While in the US, he participated in summer courses at Georgetown University under the auspices of the Fund for American Studies. We anticipate that we will be able to provide partial support for another student to study in the US during the summer of 2006. Interested students are urged to contact Dr. Sharon Wolchik, Chair, FOS Scholarship Committee, at wolchik@gwu.edu.

SUMMER BARBEQUE FOR NEW U.S. AMBASSADOR

Amb. Rastislav Kacer hosted a FOS-sponsored informal reception and poolside barbeque at his residence July 26 honoring Amb. Skip Vallee, soon to be on his way to Bratislava as the fifth US Ambassador to Slovakia and Amb. Julie Finley, member of the FOS Board of Advisors and soon to head the US Mission to the OSCE in Vienna. Most members of the FOS Board of Directors and Ambs. Finley and Niemczyk from the Board of Advisors were able to attend, together with a number of sustaining members of FOS from the Washington area.

Amb. Kacer welcomed the invited guests. He spoke warmly about Amb. Vallee and his forthcoming tour of duty as President Bush's representative in Slovakia. He then cited the great contributions of Amb. Finley as Founder and Board member of the U.S. Committee on NATO in supporting Slovakia's successful NATO membership bid. Amb. Russell introduced Amb. Vallee, cited his wide business experience and mentioned the warm praise he received for his nomination from both of Vermont's Senators. He offered FOS support in furthering his mission of building U.S. - Slovak friendship and economic, political and cultural ties. FOS Vice Chairman Bill Tucker then introduced Amb. Finley and described her outstanding contributions to public service, including service as Trustee and Treasurer of the National Endowment for Democracy.

Amb. Vallee expressed his enthusiasm and that of his wife, Denise, and sons Teddy and Charlie at the prospect of taking up his Bratislava post and mentioned Slovakia's great strides forward in developing a strong economy and democratic society. Amb. Finley emphasized that Slovakia remains close to her heart and said she hopes to visit her ambassadorial colleague in Bratislava. FOS extends its thanks to Amb. and Mrs. Kacer for their warm hospitality in hosting this very successful event. Both Amb. Vallee and Amb. Finley are now on the job at their respective posts.

BOARD MEMBER HONORED

Dr. Branislav Lichardus, former Slovak Ambassador to the U.S. and a member of the FoS Board of Advisors, received an honorary doctoral degree and an esteemed service commendation from City University in Seattle on June 18. The award is in recognition and appreciation of Dr. Lichardus' service to City University and his lifetime of achievements. Dr. Lichardus was instrumental in the establishment and continued development of City University in Slovakia.

On June 14 he spoke at a conference organized by City University, Bratislava and the Conservative Institute of M.R. Stefanik. The theme of the conference was "The Economic and Political Context of Central Europe - European Union Relations: Central Europe - a Partner or an Appendix of the European Union." U.S. Steel Kosice and World Bank sponsored the conference, which featured a number of speakers on Central European economic developments and presentation of a new book, "Ethical Implications of Post-Communist Transition Economies and Politics in Europe", Sergi and Bagatelas, editors.

GASPAROVIC ADDRESSES U.N.

Ivan Gasparovic, President of Slovakia, addressed the United Nations in New York on Friday, September 16, 2005, at which time Slovakia was selected as a non-permanent member of the prestigious Security Council. Following the event, a reception was held at the residence of Peter Burian, Slovak Ambassador to the United Nations. During the reception, John Miller and Joseph Senko of Friends of Slovakia, presented the President of Slovakia with a medal of honor for his effort in making Slovakia a more democratic and thriving country.