"Slovenia and Greece have excellent bilateral relations, and share similar views on a number of European issues." This was one of the principal ideas expressed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia on the first day of his official visit to Athens, which coincides with the 15th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša and his host Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic Kostas Karamanlis (Photo: Kristina Kosec/Bobo)

The PM is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Dimitrij Rupel, the Minister of the Economy, Andrej Vizjak, and a delegation of over seventy Slovenian business people.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, and his host, the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Kostas Karamanlis, focused on bilateral cooperation and how to strengthen it. Mr Janša said that economic cooperation between Slovenia and Greece was relatively modest and limited mainly to trade, which is unbalanced, particularly as fuel imports from Greece accounted for by far the biggest share of the total trade in goods between the two countries last year. According to the Slovenian PM, investment flows between Slovenia and Greece are also unbalanced; however, positive trends in the service sector in particular, where both countries have recorded growth of over 12 per cent (the total volume of trade in services amounted to €44 million in 2006), are encouraging.

With a view to promoting positive trends and strengthening cooperation, which is the main aim of the official visit of the Slovenian government delegation, two major events will take place: a Slovenian-Greek business conference accompanied by individual meetings of business representatives, and "Slovenian Days in Athens". The aims of the latter, according to the Slovenian PM, are the comprehensive presentation of Slovenia and to provide opportunities for collaboration in the economy, tourism and other fields. The Slovenian side took the opportunity to express interest in collaborating on transport connections, particularly maritime and air transport.

On this occasion ministers Vizjak and Rupel signed three bilateral agreements (Photo: Kristina Kosec/Bobo)

Mr Janša also believes that the bilateral agreements signed today will offer further opportunities for collaboration - Memorandum on Cooperation on Hydrography; Memorandum on Cooperation in Tourism; and Memorandum on Collaboration within the Athens Multinational Sealift Coordination Centre, with a technical agreement on the implementation of the latter.

The Slovenian PM said that Slovenia finds the experience of Greece, which has headed the EU Council four times, particularly valuable, adding that the countries shared similar views on the issues included on the EU agenda. This also applies to discussing possible solutions for resolving the institutional crisis which the EU is currently facing. "In this respect, both sides commend the efforts of the German presidency," Mr Janša said.

Prime Minsters of Slovenia and Greece (Photo: Kristina Kosec/Bobo)

The countries also share similar views on the countries of the Western Balkans which are seeking EU membership. "We agree that the area lying between our two countries on the map of Europe should become part of the European Union. However, we believe that accession is only possible through meeting the criteria," said the Slovenian PM. With regard to this, both countries support stability and development in the whole region. Mr Janša stressed that there were opportunities for joint projects in the Western Balkans, particularly in the energy sector, in which Greece has the leading position in the region.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša and President of the PASOK party George Papandreu (Photo:Kristina Kosec/Bobo)

As part of the official visit of the Slovenian delegation to the Hellenic Republic, Mr Janša also met the leader of the PASOK opposition party, George Andreas. They discussed the current situation in the Western Balkans, especially Kosovo, and also touched upon the situation in the Middle East.

In the afternoon, the Slovenian PM Janez Janša attended a Slovenian-Greek business conference entitled Slovenia – Your New Partner in the Eurozone, which was attended by representatives of the business communities of both countries. In his opening address, Mr Janša stressed that the numerous and diverse delegation accompanying him on the visit testifies to the fact that the interests of the Slovenian economy are greater than the actual level of cooperation with Greek partners, emphasising Slovenia's interest in Greek investment, and drawing attention to the country's geographical position, well developed infrastructure, high standard of living, educated workforce, and wide network of business contacts in the region as Slovenia's competitive advantages. At present, investment flows between the two countries are rather modest, totalling €5 million. According to Mr Janša, new opportunities will arise from the further privatisation of the economy. The Slovenian government has also welcomed the interest of partners from both sides in exploiting the potential of new transport routes that will create an even stronger link between the two countries. Both Slovenia and Greece have high ambitions in the Western Balkans, and so far they have managed to fulfil them separately. According to Mr Janša, it would be prudent to study the possibilities of a joint market presence, which could bring about even better results.

Prime Minister Janez Janša also addressed the participants of the Slovenian-Greek business conference (Photo: Kristina Kosec/Bobo)

In the evening, the Slovenian PM attended the opening ceremony of the Slovenian Days in Athens, the largest business, culture, culinary and tourist promotion of Slovenia in Greece so far, which will continue until 29 April.

Tomorrow, Mr Janša will meet the President of the Hellenic Republic, Karolos Papouliasom, the President of the Hellenic Parliament, Anna Psarouda-Benaki, and the Mayor of Athens, Nikitas Kaklamanis.

Speech by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia at the business conference