President Borut Pahor will pay a visit to Serbia with a business delegation on 29 and 30 May upon invitation of his Serbian counterpart Tomislav Nikolić. The president is also expected to visit the areas hit by the recent devastating floods.
Pahor's office said in a press release on Tuesday that Pahor spoke to Nikolić on the phone on Monday, agreeing a visit to the Slovenian soldiers and police officers participating in the rescue and cleanup efforts.
The business delegation accompanying Pahor is meanwhile expected to meet with Serbian business executives, according to the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS).
Pahor's visit to Serbia will be the first visit to the country by a high-ranking Slovenian official since the new Serbian government took over at the end of April following an early election.
Pahor paid a working visit to Serbia last May, while Nikolić was in Slovenia last July, at the first summit of the presidents of the countries participating in the Brdo cooperation process.
Outgoing Slovenian PM Alenka Bratušek paid her first official visit to Serbia last October, when the Slovenian and Serbian governments also met at their first joint session.
Political relations between Slovenia and Serbia are good, with the only remaining open issue being the 2001 agreement on succession issues among the former Yugoslav republics, which has not been fully implemented.
Business ties between the countries are also strong, with total trade exceeding EUR 1bn in 2013 for the third year in a row. Slovenia's exports amounted to EUR 664m, while the country imported EUR 411m worth of goods and services from Serbia last year.
More than 1,300 Slovenian-owned companies employing a total of 35,000 are currently registered in Serbia.
Source: The Slovenia Times
