On the second day of his state visit to Turkey, President Pahor addressed a business conference

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, is on a state visit to the Republic of Turkey at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

President Pahor began the second day of his state visit by laying a wreath on the grave of the founder of the modern Turkish state, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

As part of President Pahor's visit, a business conference with the participation of Slovenian and Turkish companies is also taking place in Ankara. The round table, which was attended by the President of the Republic of Slovenia and the Minister for Economic Development and Technology Matjaž Han, is aimed at strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries. President Pahor was the keynote speaker at the round table.

The President of the Republic is accompanied on his visit by an economic delegation consisting of representatives of companies from selected economic sectors, the Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Matjaž Han, as well as the State Secretary from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marko Štucin.


Photo: UPRS

Address of the President of the Republic of Slovenia (Check against delivery!):

Dear Ministers,
Business Representatives, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my great honour and pleasure to be able to address you today at the Slovenian - Turkish business forum in Ankara.
I am on my third state visit to Türkye, and it is a pleasure to be accompanied with such a distuinguished group of representatives of Slovenian Business
Let me start by sincerely thanking the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and its Turkish partner DEIK for organizing this important conference.
I also wish to thank Honorary Consuls of Slovenia to Türkye for their indispensable role in fostering mutual ties.
My visit to Türkye confirms the traditionally good and friendly relations between the two countries with no outstanding issues. The purpose of my visit with the business delegation is to further enhance bilateral relations between the two countries, including their economic cooperation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am thankful to President Erdo(g)an for inviting me to a state visit. With President Erdo(g)an we meet regularly on various occasions.
Eleven years ago – at that time as Prime Ministers of our two countries – we signed an agreement on Strategic Partnership between Slovenia and Turkey. Slovenia has not signed many such agreements, which shows the importance we attach to Türkye.
The aim of strategic partnership is to strengthen relations in many areas of cooperation. We even specified a goal – to achieve 1 billion EUR of trade exchange. We have done it, and we shall aim even higher. Our bilateral trade exchange has exceeded 1,4 billion.
There is a good trend of services exchange, while there is a plenty of unused potentials when it comes to foreign investments.
Turkish companies are engaged in two biggest infrastructure projects in Slovenia – Karavanke Tunnel, and second track of railway connection of the Port of Koper to the mainland.
Port of Koper is a strategic entrance from the Northern Adriatic to Central Europe, and could be even more used by Turkish business.
I see potentials also in cooperation in the areas on energy, green and innovative economy. Slovenia takes pride in its supreme technological know-how and innovative achievements of our companies. Slovenia is also among the fastest growing EU Member State in the field of digitalisation, and an aspiring green reference country in digital Europe.
Ladies and Gentlemen
We live in a demanding times – we haven’t won over COVID pandemic yet, and we are confronted with war in Ukraine; simultaneously we are fighting climate changes – all of this challenges with huge impacts on our economies. Energy and food security, as well as rising inflation are key issues for our respective governments.
Nurturing good political relations and supporting business partnerships is more important than ever.
I am confident that this business forum will be a meaningful opportunity for developing new synergies and fostering mutual trust.
Esteemed guests, this brings me to my conclusion, I wish you all many fruitful meetings and a business success. Thank you.