Prime Minister Sobotka kicks off working trip to the US by meeting representatives of major US corporations

Prime Minister Sobotka kicked off his working trip to the US by meeting representatives of major US corporations in Washington, DC, on Thursday 31 March 2016. His first appointment of the day was with Christopher J Dodd, Chief Executive Director of the Motion Picture Association of America, followed by the management of GE Aviation and US firms investing in the Czech Republic.

The main items on the agenda of the meeting with Chris Dodd, the CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, were conditions for the production of US movies in the Czech Republic, a film incentive scheme and an amendment to the Audiovisual Act that is currently in the works.

Prime Minister Sobotka went on to meet David L. Joyce, president and chief executive officer of GE Aviation, the biggest manufacturer of commercial and military jet and turboprop engines. In January 2016, GE Aviation and the Czech Government signed a memorandum of cooperation on support for the development, manufacture and testing of aero-engines in the Czech Republic.

“Implementing a project for the development, testing and production of GE’s turboprop aero-engines in the Czech Republic will give Czech industry and institutions a place at the top table of aero-engine manufacturers and sharpen Czech aerospace industry’s technological edge in general,” said Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka after the meeting.

Next up for Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka was a working breakfast with US firms investing in the Czech Republic. Since the Czech Republic’s emergence as an independent country, the US has become the fifth largest foreign investor in the Czech economy and the largest investor among non-EU countries.

Motion Picture Association of America

This organisation, founded in 1922, promotes and defends the interests of the US movie industry and draws together all the major US film studios.

GE Aviation

GE Aviation is a leading manufacturer of aero-engines and other aeronautical technology. In the Letňany district of Prague, GE Aviation has a Turboprops Division employing more than 400 people, making it the largest turboprop engine development and production hub in the Czech Republic.

US investment in the Czech Republic

Since the Czech Republic’s emergence as an independent country, the US has become the fifth largest foreign investor in the Czech economy and the largest investor among non-EU countries. More than USD 6 billion has been ploughed into the Czech Republic in the form of US investment. Projects mediated by CzechInvest alone have created nearly 40,000 jobs.