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Dinner in Bratislava

Friends of Slovakia (FOS) hosted its third gala black tie dinner in Bratislava on December 10 in celebration of Slovakia's economic progress. KenWalsh, dean of White House correspondents andWhite House correspondent for US News and World Report was the keynote speaker.Mr. Walsh has covered presidential campaigns for US News since 1986 and is the only White House correspondent who has twice won both the Aldo Beckman Award and the Gerald R. Ford award for distinguished reporting on the presidency.He gave the guests an insightful view of the current U.S. presidential campaign.

As at previous dinners, Friends of Slovakia presented awards to honorees in three areas. The 2007 Politics/Diplomacy Award went to Jan Kubis, Minister of Foreign Affairs, for his outstanding work in strengthening relationships between the U.S. and Slovakia. The Business/Economics Award was shared byMilan Filo and David Lohr.Mr. Filo is chairman and CEO of Eco-Invest and chairman of the supervisory board of five other companies employing over 10,000 Slovak citizens and exporting products of an annual value in excess of $400 million euros. David Lohr is president of US Steel Kosice, which, along with its subsidiaries, employs over 16,000 Slovaks and is one of the largest foreign investors in Slovakia. Dr. Branislav Lichardus, the first Slovak ambassador to the U.S., received the Cultural Award for his work in the field of education. He is rector, School ofManagement, City University of Seattle, which enrolls some 1600 students on campuses in Bratislava and Trencin.

A number of Slovak government officials attended the dinner, including Foreign Minister Jan Kubis and Dusan Kristofik, director, Department of Americas, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Vladimir Faic, advisor to the Prime Minister, Ladislas Balko, advisor to the Prime Minister for foreign direct investment; Jaroslav Baska, State Secretary, and Mario Nicolini, advisor to State Secretary Baska, Ministry of Defense; Frantisek Palko, State Secretary, and Peter Kazimir, State Secretary, Ministry of Finance; Peter Ziga, State Secretary, Ministry of Economy; Iveta Radicova, Deputy Chairman of SDKU; and the current Slovak Ambassador to the U.S., Rastislav Kacer.

Newly-arrived U.S. Ambassador Vincent Obsitnik and his wife, Anne Marie, attended the dinner. Former Slovak President Michael Kovac and former Slovak Ambassador to the U.S. Martin Butora who serve on the FOS Board of Advisors were also special guests along with their wives, Emilia Kovacova and Zora Butorova.

FOS provides scholarships for two Slovak university students to attend a summer institute at Georgetown University. Ondrej Socuvka, currently the advisor for foreign direct investments at the U.S. Embassy, and Eva Majernikova, employed at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are two former FOS Slovak Scholars who attended the dinner.

This year's dinner reflects the growing endorsement of the work of FOS from Slovak and U.S. corporations and individuals. Among the key supporters of the event are U.S. Steel Kosice, Eco-Invest and BEZ Transformatory. FOS thanks all who participated in making it a memorable and successful event.