Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek will start a two-day working visit to Rome on Wednesday for talks with senior Italian officials. She will also be received in the Vatican by Pope Francis on Thursday.
Bilateral cooperation and Slovenia's measures to combat the crisis will be in the focus of talks with Prime Minister Enrico Letta and President Giorgio Napolitano.
The two governments' delegations will also hold informal talks.
Bratušek's office has said good cooperation with Italy is strategically important for Slovenia, as Italy is the no. 1 source of foreign tourists, the second biggest trading partner and the third biggest foreign investor.
In line with this view, a memorandum of understanding will be signed between the Italian ICE agency and Slovenia's investment and tourism promotion agency, SPIRIT.
Bratušek and Letta will also meet the representatives of the Slovenian minority in Italy and the Italian minority in Slovenia today.
At the Holy See, Bratušek is scheduled to meet Slovenian cardinal Franc Rode today, while tomorrow she will meet State Secretary Tarcisio Bertone and be received for an audience by the new pope.
The visit to the Vatican has been described as a "continuation of the dialogue between Slovenia and the Holy See", and an opportunity to deepen relations.
Source: The Slovenia Times
