NEWS
Prime Minister Pahor arrives on his first official visit to the State of Israel and to the Palestinian territories
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr Borut Pahor, today commenced his official three-day visit to the State of Israel and the Palestinian territories. The purpose of the visit is to strengthen bilateral relations, and particularly economic and multilateral relations, between Slovenia and Israel, as well as between Slovenia and the Palestinian National Authority. During both visits, particular emphasis will be placed on an exchange of views on the Middle East peace process prior to examination of the Palestinian application for UN membership and to the developments in the Southern Mediterranean.
On the first day of his official visit to the State of Israel, Prime Minister Borut Pahor met with the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu. The topics of discussion, in addition to bilateral political, economic, tourist, transport, scientific and technical and development cooperation, included multilateral cooperation and relations within EU. In his statement to the media, Prime Minister Pahor said that he and his Israeli colleague agreed on strengthening bilateral relations in three areas above all: high technology, tourism and student exchanges between the two countries. In addition, the Slovenian Prime Minister pointed out that Slovenia sought more Israeli investment in a number of areas. The two prime ministers touched on the advantages of the Port of Koper as an entry point to Europe, as well as on the continuation of the peace process in the region. Prime Minister Pahor said that his experience with regard to the arbitration agreement is primarily that of dialogue and trust which are, in fact, a prerequisite for success. At the conclusion of the talks, the Slovenian Prime Minister wished his Israeli counterpart every success in the negotiations, which require a great deal of courage and good political will from both sides.
(Photo: Nebojša Tejić/SPA)
In his statement to the media, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stressed that this meeting was an opportunity to strengthen multilateral relations between the two countries and highlighted a very important and, in his view, 'instructive' achievement by the Slovenian Government in signing the arbitration agreement, particularly in light of the fact that he and Prime Minister Pahor met in Paris in 2010, just prior to the referendum on the aforementioned agreement, for which he expressed his commendations and congratulations. Following the one-on-one talks, the prime ministers continued their meeting at a working lunch, where the main topic of conversation was the situation in the Middle East.
Later today, Prime Minister Pahor is to meet the President of the State of Israel, Mr Shimon Peres, the opposition leader, Ms Tzipi Livni, and the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Avigdor Liberman. As part of the Slovenian Prime Minister's visit, a Memorandum on Tourism Cooperation is to be signed by the Slovenian Ministry of the Economy and the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.
Relations between Slovenia and Israel are good and traditionally friendly. Over the past years, the two countries have developed a diversified and intensive level of cooperation. In addition, Slovenia and Israel can further solidify their relations in the field of economic (trade in goods, investments, tourism), scientific, technological and development cooperation. However, despite good bilateral relations in the economic sector, trade in goods still remains at an average level. Ranked 31st country in the world in 2010, Israel is one of Slovenia’s most important foreign-trade partners and is its most important economic partner in the region. In 2010, trade in goods increased significantly and amounted to EUR 132.8 million, while trade in services amounted to only EUR 28.9 million. Furthermore, both countries expressed a common interest in cooperation relating to humanitarian and development projects.
Tomorrow, the Slovenian Prime Minister will continue his visit to the State of Israel. He is to meet Palestinian and Israeli businessmen and is to attend the inauguration of the Israeli-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce where he will address the audience as the keynote speaker. On Wednesday, 27 July 2011, Prime Minister Pahor will conclude his tour with an official visit to the Palestinian territories where he is to meet the Palestinian Prime Minister, Dr Salam Fayyad, and the Palestinian President, Mr Mahmoud Abbas. On the margins of his visit to the Palestinian territories, the Slovenian Prime Minister is scheduled to visit the Abu Raya Rehabilitation Centre and meet with the representatives of the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land.