Minister of Foreign Affairs Jakub Kulhánek delivered a speech at the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly. At the beginning of his program at the UN, he visited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston where he met with Czech companies and start-ups successfully investing in the USA.

The aim of the bilateral negotiations was to present the Czech Republic as a developed country with a sense for the growing importance of new technologies and innovations, and to demonstrate fields in which the Czech Republic excels – e.g., biotechnology, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, health sciences or robotics.

During the meeting at MIT, Minister Jakub Kulhánek officially launched the “MIT – Czech Republic Seed Fund” program between the MIT and the Czech Academy of Sciences. The program will from now on serve as a tool for financing mutual high-quality research cooperation.

Minister Jakub Kulhánek visited Colt’s Manufacturing Company in Hartford, world’s leading firearms manufacturers which was acquired this year by Czech arms manufacturer Česká Zbrojovka Group SE. In Boston, he met with representatives of Sotio – an international biotechnology company of PPF Group focusing on cancer immunotherapies and research and development in this field. He also visited the Thermo Fisher Scientific lab in Tewksbury, which has chosen the Czech Republic for their high-tech R&D and production for lab supplies.

Next, Czech Minister met with prominent Czechs working in the United States. He met a plastic surgeon Prof. Bohdan Pomahač, researcher on neuro-degenerative diseases Dr. Martin Tolar, and Klára Jelínková, the Vice President of Harvard University.

In New York, Minister Kulhánek visited Manhattan’s most extraordinary new skyscraper – the One Vanderbilt, which is equipped with software solutions of the Czech company Sharry.

Last but not least, Minister Jakub Kulhánek presented the Gratias Agit award to Michael Beckerman, professor of musicology, for his services in promoting Czech music in the USA.

The Minister also attended the gala dinner of the Václav Havel Liberty Foundation in New York.

The visit was prepared in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the United Nations in New York, Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York, and the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington.