Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Šarec is on an official visit to Russia on 10 and 11 September 2019, at the invitation of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The purpose of the visit is to confirm the good relations between the two countries, strengthen the bilateral dialogue and search for opportunities for further development of cooperation. Prime Minister Šarec stated that the two countries have friendly relations that extend to numerous areas of cooperation, from business to culture.
A large part of the discussions between two prime ministers was focused on trade. Despite the European Union’s restrictive measures against the Russian Federation due to breaches of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial cohesion, Russia remains an important trade partner for Slovenia. The Russian Federation is Slovenia’s ninth biggest export partner and fifth largest partner in terms of foreign direct investment by Slovenian companies. “We are satisfied with the positive trend in economic cooperation,” said Šarec at the discussions. The prime ministers emphasized the importance of the operations of the Slovenian-Russian intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation and scientific and technological cooperation, which plays an important role in the promotion of economic cooperation. The most recent meeting of the intergovernmental commission was held in Slovenia in June. The two sides committed to building on current cooperation and searching for new business opportunities. These include many opportunities in the field of tourism, where Russia is in 10th place in the number of overnight stays in Slovenia.
The prime ministers also exchanged views on and assessments of current foreign policy topics and events in the international community. With regard to the conditions in Ukraine, PM Šarec noted that Slovenia supports territorial cohesion and Ukrainian independence, and is working towards the implementation of the Minsk agreements. He is committed to strengthening the dialogue between the parties involved and welcomed the recent exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia. He stated that it is necessary to build trust.
The prime ministers also spoke about conditions in the Western Balkans and the Middle East, particularly with regard to the situation in Syria. They also exchanged views on the status of the Middle East peace process and the implementation of the Iranian nuclear deal.
On the occasion of the visit, Slovenia and Russia confirmed their cooperation in the area of culture and science by signing the Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the Russian Federation in culture, science, education, sport and youth politics 2019–2024. During the official visit the two PMs also signed the Plan for Working Consultations between the Slovenian and Russian foreign ministers for 2020 and the Cooperation Agreement between the Slovenian Ministry of Justice and the Russian Ministry of Justice for 2020 and 2021.
The Slovenian Prime Minister and the ministerial delegation, composed of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Miro Cerar, Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek and Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Ksenija Klampfer, were accompanied to Moscow by an economic delegation of ten Slovenian companies that operate on the Russian market.
During the remainder of today’s schedule, Prime Minister Šarec and Prime Minister Medvedev will unveil a memorial to Slovenian victims of both World Wars on the territory of the present-day Russian Federation. In the evening this will be followed by a reception for Slovenian and Russian businesspeople, which will be attended by Slovenian PM Marjan Šarec and the ministerial delegation. The reception will also be attended by Russian Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Konstantin Noskov.