On the second day of his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr Janez Janša, was received by the King and Prime Minister Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who stressed the importance of personal relations in strengthening political and economic cooperation. The dignitaries exchanged views on furthering economic cooperation between the two countries; in addition, Slovenia’s Prime Minister presented cooperation with Slovenia as having potential opportunities for Saudi Arabia’s economy.
Slovenian Prime Minister Mr Janez Janša received by the Saudi Arabian king and Prime Minister Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Photo by: BOBO)
In the Prime Minister’s words, the discussion was very cordial and open. "Among other topics, we referred briefly to the time when Slovenia would be holding the EU Presidency and I was assured that Saudi Arabia would be a counterpart interested in all issues concerning energy security, interreligious and intercultural dialogue, as well as the overall Middle-East situation."
The main objective of this visit is the strengthening of economic cooperation and political dialogue, particularly in light of Slovenia's upcoming EU Presidency, scheduled for the first half of 2008. This is the first visit held at the governmental level and represents the first important meeting by representatives of the two countries. In Prime Minister Janša’s words, this visit represents a turning point in relations between the two countries and a foundation for further intensification of mutual relations. "The agreements we signed yesterday constitute a formal basis for further deepening of our cooperation; in addition to this, they will enable other agreements to be negotiated and concluded in the future, such as an agreement relating to the protection of investments and ways of resolving certain concrete open issues. We are also considering establishing a representation office in Riyadh to serve as a springboard for the Slovene economy in the Gulf region, and in combination with politics to operate as a branch office of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, currently based in Eqypt and covering Saudi Arabia and Kuwait," added the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Janez Janša spoke with the Governor of Riyadh, Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, about the role of tourism and presented his counterpart with potential Slovenian opportunities which our country could offer the Saudi economy. (Photo: BOBO)
During their morning meeting the Prime Minister and Governor Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud discussed the importance of a free and open market, security cooperation between the two countries, and interreligious dialogue serving the whole of humanity. On this occasion, the Governor also emphasised the importance of political dialogue between Slovenian and Saudi leaders, and expressed his firm belief that such dialogue is opening the door to closer economic cooperation. They also exchanged their views relating to enhanced cooperation in the field of tourism, particularly in light of developing wider economic relations.
In the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Prime Minister participated in the Slovenian-Saudi business conference set up for finding new possibilities for enhanced economic cooperation and business meetings. Mr Janša addressed representatives of the Saudi economy and a delegation of over 60 representatives of 40 Slovenian companies accompanying the Prime Minister on this visit. In his opinion, this was an excellent opportunity for substantive meetings between business people of both countries. "At this conference we could thus present the investment possibilities of Slovenia in detail and participate in a quality presentation of investment possibilities in Saudi Arabia," were the words of satisfaction of the Prime Minister after the conference. He invited the Saudi entrepreneurs to invest in Slovenia by highlighting the areas of finance, banking, telecommunications, trade, tourism and information technology. He also promoted Slovenia as a possible springboard for Saudi companies to establish themselves in EU and Balkan markets.
The business conference, at which Prime Minister Janez Janša gave the opening speech, was an excellent opportunity for a meeting between business people from both countries (Photo: BOBO)
According to the Prime Minister, economic cooperation has not been extensive up till now; however, there are major possibilities for enhancing economic relations. As Slovenia's advantages he mentioned good infrastructure and proximity to almost all significant markets. He additionally emphasised Slovenian experiences in the markets of the former Yugoslavia that the Slovenian side could transfer to Saudi entrepreneurs.
Tomorrow morning the Prime Minister will attend the opening of a new production facility of Eti, Iskraemeco and MEMF, joint undertakings established through Slovenian and Saudi investments. The new factory is intended for the production of electric meters and their components, the project also being presented at today's business conference. According to the Prime Minister, this is a good promotion for further cooperation in the area of mutual investment.
Afterwards, Prime Minister Janša will pay an official visit to Kuwait together with the economic delegation. There he will also present the possibilities of investment in Slovenia to his counterparts and emphasise the importance of deepening cooperation between the Slovenian and Kuwaiti economies, particularly in the area of financial services and tourism.
