The president of the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia will pay a working visit to Slovenia on Tuesday. Debora Serracchiani will meet Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec and receive a decoration for her contribution to the strengthening of Slovenian-Italian relations.
Serracchiani will have a working lunch with Erjavec, after which the pair will address the press.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the talks will focus on ways to enhance cooperation between Slovenia and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, which is home to a Slovenian minority.
Erjavec and Serracchiani will also discuss the upcoming Expo 2015 exhibition in Milan as well as reforms in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Italy in general.
President Borut Pahor will decorate Serracchiani with a Golden Order for Services for her "significant contribution to the deepening of bilateral cooperation with Italy on both the national and regional levels", the president's office said.
However, the announcement of the decoration was met with criticism from the opposition Democrats (SDS), which argue that during Serracchiani's time at the helm of the region, Friuli-Venezia Giulia passed a local administration reform that had a very negative effect on the Slovenian minority.
Serracchiani took over as Friuli-Venezia Giulia president in April 2013. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
She also served as an MEP between 2008 and 2013 as a member of the Socialists and Democrats group.
This will be Serracchiani's second visit to Ljubljana in her capacity as regional president. She visited Slovenia's capital in July 2014, shortly after taking over.
Source: SloveniaTimes
