STA, March 15, 2018 – Foreign Ministry State Secretary Iztok Mirošič has visited Moscow to meet Russian Minister of Communications and Mass Media Nikolay Nikiforov, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko and other high-profile Russian representatives. Their meetings revolved around cooperation in business and other fields.
Nikiforov, the co-chair of the Slovenian-Russian government commission for economic cooperation, and Mirošič praised the work of the commission which currently works on coordinating 35 joint projects.
Data on bilateral trade is also encouraging, with Slovenia recording a 15% increase in exports in 2017, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release on Thursday.
Mirošič and Nikiforov also talked about the procedure in Russia to evaluate the idea of the countries' state-owned postal companies to build a joint logistics centre at Maribor Airport.
They meanwhile agreed that establishing a direct airline link between Saint Petersburg and Ljubljana would provide an additional boost for cooperation, both in business and tourism.
Mirošič and Grushko reviewed the key areas of cooperation, and also discussed topical issues in the international community, with an emphasis on the EU and Western Balkans.
The Slovenian state secretary said he was concerned about the poisoning with a nerve agent of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in England's Salisbury.
Mirošič said that Slovenia full condemned the incident, wanted that it be investigated and expressed solidarity with the UK as its ally, the ministry said.
The state secretary also discussed cultural diplomacy and cooperation with other high-profile Russian representatives.
Mirošič and Deputy Culture Minister Alla Manilova agreed to develop a closer and direct partnership between the countries' cultural institutions. They also called for the promotion of cultural tourism.
Mirošič also met representatives of Slovenian companies doing business in Russia in energy, information and communication technology and infrastructure.
DS #Mirošič & minister za zveze in množične komunikacije #Nikiforov: #Slovenija in #Rusija ??bosta še naprej krepili gospodarsko sodelovanje in iskali nove priložnosti v turizmu.
— MFA SLOVENIA (@MZZRS) March 15, 2018
Več: https://t.co/LOPLxMT8a0 pic.twitter.com/ufT8y46YK4