Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák, who is currently in the USA, attended celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Cleveland Agreement in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday (September 26), the Foreign Affairs Ministry's press department informed TASR on Sunday. The celebrations were an element of the Slovak Heritage Day organised by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. They were attended by many members of the Slovak diaspora community as well as representatives of the political and social sphere of the state of Ohio.
The Cleveland Agreement was the first document formally to express the will of Czechs and Slovaks to establish a joint state of two equal nations and is viewed as the beginning of Slovak political efforts to establish their own country outside of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. "The Slovaks who in 1915 signed the Cleveland Agreement would be proud of Slovakia today. Our journey towards meeting the objectives that they set out in this document was long and not always easy, but today we represent a success story", said Lajčák in his speech, praising the role of Slovak Americans in this regard and also the traditional relations between Slovakia and the USA. "In the past, Slovaks came to the United States mainly in search of a livelihood and the prospect of a better life. Today they come to run businesses here, do research or pursue a sports career. I'm convinced that the most valuable capital of Slovakia is the variety of talent of our people", said Lajčák, pointing to Slovak photographer Filip Kulišev, who's exhibiting a selection of his photographs in his Amazing Planet exhibition at the museum.
The Slovak Heritage Days in Cleveland also featured an exhibition of Slovak folk costumes. During his visit to Cleveland Lajčák met representatives of the local business community and expatriate organisations. At a working lunch organised by former US ambassador to Slovakia Theodore Sedgwick, Lajčák presented Slovakia's political, economic transformation and integration success story and responded to questions concerning Slovakia's stances on the future of the European Union, the migration crisis, the situation in Ukraine and other current issues. Cleveland is the second largest city in Ohio after Columbus. At the turn of the 20th century, Cleveland was the centre of the Slovak community in the USA. According to estimates, there are more than 20,000 Slovaks and people of Slovak ancestry currently living there.
