President Andrej Kiska is paying an official visit to the Republic of Chile, to be followed by a working visit to Argentina and the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The main objective of his journey is the promotion of cooperation, particularly in the economy, science, research and innovative business. The President´s delegation includes representatives of Slovak companies and academia.

As Kiska observed during his visit Monday to Start-up Chile, the country´s centre for such developments, Slovakia and Chile face the same issue in the approach of young people to entrepreneurship: “After graduation, our young people often fail to consider starting a business, preferring instead to get a good job. It’s a major task for us – politicians and people in business – to support the enthusiasm and passion of the young generation to take the risk and their lives in their own hands”.

President Kiska appreciated Start-up Chile as an initiative which may teach Slovakia a lot: “There is much discussion in my country about supporting innovation, start-ups and the business environment. In five years of its operation and with no major budget of 10 million dollars, Start-up Chile has become the absolutely most successful start-up project in South America and is globally ranked among the top 10. It’s a project worth paying attention to.”

The fact that Slovakia and Chile have a lot in common was highlighted by Kiska after a meeting with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. “When discussing, for instance, the Ukraine, Georgia, terrorism or migration, I was pleasantly surprised. Madam President is familiar with the situation, with developments in Europe. We absolutely share the same values in all the essential concepts.”

Before meeting the President of Chile, Andrej Kiska placed a wreath at the memorial of the Liberator General Bernardo O'Higgins (1778-1842), the first head of the independent nation of Chile.