SLOVAK President Ivan Gašparovič opened an honorary consulate in the town of Naperville close to Chicago on May 23. The Naperville mayor George Pradel, then Slovak ambassador to US Peter Burian and Slovak Foreign Affair Minister Miroslav Lajčák attended the ceremony. The minister appointed Rosemary Macko Wisnosky, a US businesswoman with Slovak roots, as the honorary consul, the SITA newswire reported.
President Gašparovič in his speech appraised the activities of Slovak expatriates in the USA, of whom several tens of thousands live in the state of Illinois.
Naperville lies at the edge of Chicago and holds close contacts with the Slovak town of Nitra. Their partnership will turn 20 years next year. One of the streets of Naperville has also been named after the historical Slovak town.
The Naperville mayor told SITA that he regards Nitra to be one of the most beautiful cities. He has visited it six times so far.