 The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, attended the regional conference, Summit of 100 Business Leaders of South-East Europe, held in Arandjelovac, Serbia. The purpose of the summit is to promote dialogue between regional business representatives and thus strengthen the region's competitive potential. The summit is also attended by approximately 20 Slovenian business people from leading Slovenian companies. President Türk participated in the summit plenary panel entitled 'Agreement for a New Era', where he delivered a speech. |
 He said that the summit was being held at the right time, because the countries of the South-East Europe had reached an important turning point: the establishment of closer cooperation based on mutual acquaintance and respect. President Türk also spoke of the contribution of politics and the role it can play in economic cooperation between the countries of the region, and further noted that the politics should solve the problems, not generate them. He pointed to the arbitration agreement regarding the settlement of the border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia as a positive example, which enabled the political climate to improve, thus facilitating the expansion of economic cooperation between the two countries. |
 President Türk emphasised that the EU enlargement, increase in trade (which should be as balanced as possible) and increase in investments (which should respect the principles of non-discrimination and reciprocity) were very important for the future of South-East European countries. He cited the practical example of the Cargo 10 project, a railway connection between Istanbul and Munich, which could enable the application of all the abovementioned principles. He stressed that the politicians and business people should make every effort to quickly eliminate obstacles to the implementation of the project. |