The president of the Slovak Republic, Andrej Kiska, toured San Diego on Monday to learn about the local high-tech economy and met with Mayor Kevin Faulconer for about 45 minutes.
Kiska, a 51-year-old electrical engineer, was elected president in March after entering the campaign with no political experience. He was inaugurated in June as Slovakia’s fourth president since it split from the Czech Republic in 1993.
“San Diego’s world-class universities, research facilities, defense centers and leading technology companies have long attracted a talented workforce,” Faulconer said. “Our human capital, combined with broad institutional support, has cast San Diego as a key hub of innovation producing groundbreaking technology. San Diego and Bratislava have a shared vision and long-term interest in capitalizing on our current leadership and investing in technology as a primary economic growth engine.”
Kiska’s U.S. tour included a speech to the United Nations General Assembly and a visit to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
His visit to the San Diego region was marred by two incidents.
This morning, two San Diego police motorcycle officers escorting Kiska’s motorcade collided on the Silver Strand, south of the Hotel del Coronado. Both officers were taken to UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest, and one was said to have severe injuries.
On Sunday night, Kiska and 10 other people, including some U.S. Secret Service agents, were trapped in an elevator for about an hour at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort, according to broadcast reports.
— City News Service