Azernews.Az

By Leman Mammadova

Slovenia and Azerbaijan are keen on the intensification of interaction by using all opportunities to boost economic potential between two countries.

Slovenia offers its port of Koper to Azerbaijani companies and is convinced that the ports of both countries have opportunities for cooperation.

“The Slovenian port of Koper provides an excellent route for the supply of goods to the markets of the European Union and in the opposite direction. We also recommend the use of this port to Azerbaijani companies,” the Slovenian Foreign Ministry told Trend.

The ministry added that there are also opportunities for cooperation in the field of investment.

“According to the Central Bank of Slovenia, there were no direct investments between the two countries. According to information from the Slovenia-Azerbaijan Friendship Society, there is an increased interest of Azerbaijan in investing in Slovenia," reads the message.

The Slovenian MFA added that the country's business community welcomed the establishment of the Slovenian-Azerbaijani Business Council in March 2016 in Ljubljana. "There is certainly room for improvement in cooperation in this area,” the ministry stated.

Touching upon the prospects of opening direct flights between the capitals of the two countries, the ministry noted that at the moment this is impossible.

“We believe that it would be possible to make more efforts to increase the tourist flow between Azerbaijan and Slovenia. Currently it is impossible to open a direct flight because the number of tourists does not reach the required level,” noted the ministry.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1996. In recent years, relations between Azerbaijan and Slovenia have been developing in various spheres.

So far, 12 documents have been signed between the countries. Although economic cooperation is not at the desired level, both countries have the potential to develop it. Economic cooperation between Slovenia and Azerbaijan is based mainly on trade.

In 2018, the trade turnover between Slovenia and Azerbaijan reached 26.9 million euros. Slovenian exports to Azerbaijan amounted to 15.1 million euros, while Slovenian imports from Azerbaijan made up 11.7 million euros.

Generally, business forums held in recent years and reciprocal visits between the countries' officials have given impetus to the development of ties.

Besides the economic cooperation, the political dialogue between the countries has intensified over the past years.

Azerbaijan highly appreciates Slovenia’s commitments for supporting Azerbaijan's fair position in the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Slovenian parliament adopted resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 2014 and on Khojaly massacre in 2016. Last year, a memorial board dedicated to victims of the Khojaly genocide was erected in the territory of the Dobrava Memorial Park complex in the city of Maribor, Slovenia.

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Leman Mammadova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888

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