 | The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, is currently on a state visit to the People’s Republic of China, where he was received with military honours by the President of the People’s Republic of China, Mr Hu Jintao. After the talks with the Chinese President, the Slovenian President held a meeting with the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Mr Wen Jiabao. President Türk congratulated the Chinese President and the Prime Minister on the successful staging of this year’s Olympic Games in Beijing, and they thanked Slovenia for the generous help offered to people affected by the devastating earthquake that hit the Chinese province of Sichuan. The Slovenian President proclaimed the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana and Sichuan’s provincial capital of Chengdu twinned cities. He stressed that the two nations have traditionally enjoyed good relations and that it was natural for Slovenia to have immediately responded by offering financial and material assistance to help the country overcome the effects of the natural disaster.
The two Presidents and the Prime Minister discussed political relations, emphasising the need to strengthen the political foundation for all other forms of cooperation between the two countries, which should be reflected in mutual visits and regular consultations. The talks largely focused on economic cooperation, which is going very well. Despite Slovenia’s trade deficit in this area, the joint commission on trade and economic cooperation between the Republic of Slovenia and the People’s Republic of China, the Slovenian economic representative office in Shanghai and other institutions will enable balanced and dynamic development of economic relations, noted President Türk.
During the talks, the Slovenian President highlighted, in particular, the importance of the Port of Koper for the Chinese economy. In this regard, he stressed that the two countries could enhance their economic cooperation by increasing the visibility of the Port of Koper and North Atlantic transport routes among Chinese freight forwarding agents and exporters. In general, President Türk assessed both talks as very constructive. “The talks have shown that Slovenia, which strengthened its position considerably during its EU Presidency, has become an interesting partner for China,” stated Dr Türk.
The Slovenian President, the Chinese President and the Chinese Prime Minister also discussed cooperation in the fields of tourism, financial services and culture. In this respect, Dr Türk advocated support for promoting the learning of the Slovenian language in China; the Chinese side, on the other hand, expressed its interest in supporting the promotion of the Chinese culture and language in Slovenia. The Slovenian President also informed the Chinese President of the situation in the Western Balkans, stressing that, in order to stabilise the situation in the region, it was vital that the region forge closer ties with the European Union. He concluded by inviting the Chinese President and Prime Minister to visit Slovenia.
Dr Türk then attended the official opening of the seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 7). |