Event Recap: Ambassador, Executives Highlight Czech Republic’s Growing Partnership With Georgia

A Central Role in Europe’s Future: Briefing with Czech Ambassador Miloslav Stasek

January 30, 2025
Arnall Golden Gregory

Ambassador Miloslav Stasek is no stranger to Atlanta. The Czech envoy, who took up his post in 2022, has visited the city at least five times, speaking to think tanks, trading insights with academics, opening art exhibitions and introducing Czech wine to new consumers.  

This trip, he joined Global Atlanta for a breakfast briefing to outline how the Czech Republic, a country of 10 million in what he calls “the industrial heartland” of Europe, is positioning itself for a central role in the bloc’s future. 

Fresh off attending the U.S. presidential inauguration — the only Czech in the Capitol after the ceremony was moved indoors— Mr. Stasek said that while blanket tariffs could be harmful, he remained optimistic that Europe can reach a deal with the Trump administration. Closely tied to Germany’s struggling economy, the Czech Republic is part of a Central European “automotive belt” that has complementary strengths to Georgia in terms of technically skilled workers and supportive governments, though he admitted that bureaucracy can be a problem when it comes to procurement.

On defense, he said, the Czech Republic is meeting its NATO spending obligations, hosting about a half-million Ukrainian refugees (equivalent to the U.S. welcoming 15 million people on a per capita basis), and making a wholesale switch from Russian fossil fuels to other sources, including U.S. liquefied natural gas. 

He welcomed Georgia companies to three industrial fairs happening this year, particularly in Brno, noting that he and Honorary Consul Monika Vintrlikova would roll out the red carpet. A key goal is to offer a Georgia Pavilion at the MSV Engineering Fair in October. 

A panel discussion featured PJ Bain, CEO of Atlanta-based Prime Revenue, who said its EMEA headquarters in Prague has offered a lot of advantages — including the ability to attract young, multilingual European Union talent and keep a pulse on supply chain activity in Europe that the company’s platform helps fund. 

A variety of companies — either Czech-origin firms like PBS Aerospace, which a week after the event launched a major Georgia expansion, and Athens-based Ventus — chimed in from the audience to share experiences doing business in the Czech Republic and plans for future engagement.

All agreed: Atlanta needs to restore a nonstop flight to Prague, which the ambassador said is a key objective as the world’s fourth-safest country with 16 million tourist arrivals per year. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport already has a sister-airport agreement with Prague. Such a flight could help with sports diplomacy, as Atlanta is home to the only Czech NBA player (Vít Krejčí of the Atlanta Hawks) and will host the FIFA World Cup in 2026. 

Ladislav Chodák, president of the Brno Regional Chamber of Commerce, was also in attendance, standing ready to connect Atlantans to the South Moravian tech hub and its innovation center, the JIC.

For her part, Ms. Vintrlikova, the honorary consul, shared plans to open a new incubator for Czech companies in Peachtree Corners at the Atlanta Technology Park, where the consulate recently moved its offices. The event will be held March 12. 

Upcoming Trade Missions:

Get the inside track on VIP access to the following Events in Brno, Czech Republic: 

• May 28-30: International Defense and Security Technologies Fair
  
• June 10-12: Urbis: Smart Cities Meetup — green energy, mobility, circular economy and more
  
• Oct. 7-10: International Industrial Fair — meet with companies from 40+ countries​, including Ukraine, which is using the fair to vet key partners for future rebuilding initiatives

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“My feeling its that Georgia has a touch of Europe … It’s a very cosmopolitan place. That’s why companies from the Czech Republic are picking up on Georgia, because on one side they have support from the Czech community, and they can share some experience from other companies. And also they are basically used to the working culture. It means Georgia is perfect place.”

“You need to start in the ecosystem that is familiar to you, that is friendly to you, and that has a great network. And I believe that’s Atlanta, and it’s not because I just live here. It’s really a great ecosystem.” -On coming to Atlanta versus other U.S. business hubs

“We try to instill personal characteristics in our team members of smart, hungry and humble … and what we get out of our team in the Czech Republic is that. Our staff there is relatively young — the average age is below 35 — the team there is incredibly intelligent, they’re incredibly scrappy and very humble, so our culture in our Prague offices is amongst the best.”

“We believe that Eastern Europe has really been neglected by the EU since its formation, and only a wake-up call from Ukraine has really redirected European Union to think, ‘Well, maybe we should, we should do more economically for that flank of our union.’ Georgia Tech is interested in going to these burgeoning areas, these areas that are going to grow dramatically, and be helpful in any way.” 

“What’s interesting is that it is semiconductor manufacturing — so very high tech, high skilled labor, and it’s a town of roughly 16,000 people. So if you were to look at it from  a bigger perspective, you would probably say it might be really challenging, but they put a lot of work into it.” — On U.S. company OnSemi’s recruitment of workers in small-town Czech Republic

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