President Drnovšek receives the President of Tibet
Ljubljana, 06/17/2007 | press release
The President of the Republic of Slovenia dr. Janez Drnovšek received today at the Strmol Castle the President of the People's Government of the Autonomous Region of Tibet Chamba Phuntsok and his delegation, which includes also the Chinese Ambassador to Slovenia Zhi Zhao Lin.
At the meeting, they recalled their memories of Dr Drnovšek's visit to Lhasa last year. The Tibetan President Chamba Phuntsok reiterated that this visit remains a historic one since Slovenia's president is the only head of state to have visited Tibet during his term. Last summer, Tibet's capital was linked to the rest of China by a new railway line, which has had a positive influence both on the development of tourism in Tibet (the number of tourists rose from one million to 2.5 million; this year, the autonomous region is expected to host three million visitors) and on facilitating Tibet's inclusion in the cultural, economic and political life of the People's Republic of China.
The two presidents spoke about climate changes and the important role of each individual and country in finding a solution to this issue. In this respect, Slovenia's President Dr Janez Drnovšek pointed out the important role and responsibility of large countries, such as the United States, China and India, in the prevention of further pollution of the global environment.
The Tibetan President Chamba Phuntsok underlined his belief that this visit contributed significantly to a concrete cooperation between Tibet and Slovenia. He pointed out the numerous useful talks with government institutions in the sphere of culture, bioagriculture and tourism. One of the topics of this meeting was also an agreement on shooting a documentary on Tibet by a Slovenian film crew.
The President of the Republic of Slovenia Dr. Janez Drnovšek stressed the importance of preserving the cultural heritage and tradition. He said that the impact of globalisation might be positive as long as it makes our lives easier; however, one should never allow it to destroy the traditional way of life. He added that the performance of the Tibetan folklore group in Ljubljana last Friday was excellent and that it succeeded in bringing Tibet closer to the Slovenian audience once again.