The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša, today received Mr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, who was in Ljubljana attending an international conference at the beginning of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. PM Janez Janša and Mr Ihsanoglu both agreed that intercultural dialogue was important both for the co-existence of Europeans in their cultural and religious diversity and for the EU’s relations within a complex global environment.

 

(Photo: Kristina Kosec/Bobo)

 

The Prime Minister Janez Janša thanked the Secretary-General for the favourable reception of Slovenia's initiative to establish a Euro-Mediterranean University with a seat in Piran, Slovenia, and received Mr Ihsanoglu's assurance of further support for this important project. Mr Ihsanoglu underlined the strengthening of cooperation with international organisations, such as the OSCE and the EU, as one of the goals of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. In this connection, he also remarked on the positive experience of Slovenia’s Presidency of the OSCE and expressed his belief that the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union would offer the opportunity for close cooperation. PM Janša agreed that there was still a great deal of untapped potential in this area. Mr Ihsanoglu also welcomed the Agreement on the legal status of the Islamic community in the Republic of Slovenia, concluded by the Islamic community and the Slovenian Government in July 2007, describing it as a model of its kind in Europe.

 

(Photo: Kristina Kosec/Bobo)