India, Slovenia Sign Seven MoUs to Boost Bilateral Ties

The President of India Ram Nath Kovind and his Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor have agreed to strengthen multilateralism and promote multi-polar world. President Ram Nath Kovind reached Ljubljana, Slovenia in the final leg of his visit to – Iceland, Switzerland and Slovenia. Ram Nath Kovind’s visit is the first-ever presidential visit from India to Slovenia.

President Ram Nath Kovind held a bilateral meeting with President of Slovenia Borut Pahor at Lubliyana, the capital city of Slovenia. He thanked Slovenian President for supporting India in its fight against cross border terrorism. Slovenian President, in a statement, expressed his commitment for greater ties with India.

Seven MoUs

Seven MoUs and agreements were signed in the presence of the President of India Ram Nath Kovind and Slovenian President Borut Pahor. These seven agreements are – Programmes of Cooperation in the fields of River Rejuvenation (Clean Ganga Mission), Culture, Investment, Science & Technology, Sports and Standards.

Discussion between India-Slovenia

• President Ram Nath Kovind said that India’s growth and Slovenia’s technology and manufacturing capacity complement each other.
• Both the countries highlighted that there is a huge possibility of cooperation between the two countries in the fields of clean technology, especially robotics and artificial intelligence.
• President Kovind said that Slovenia has developed niche technology in the defence sector and is a proven leader in the field of Artificial Intelligence, defence equipment and clean water technologies.

India-Slovenia Relations

• First time, Slovenia opened its embassy in India on August 01, 2002. Initially, this mission was headed by Charge d’Affaires, it was later upgraded to Ambassador level in September 2009. On the other hand, India started its resident Mission in Ljubljana in February 2007.
• Both countries have signed various high-level agreements as a sign of warm bilateral relations.
• A Parliamentary delegation led by Meira Kumar, former Speaker of Lok Sabha visited Slovenia from May 26-30 2013.
• In 2014, the total bilateral trade in goods stood at Euro 213.03 million with India enjoying a trade surplus of Euro 7.19 million. In 2013, the total bilateral trade was to the tune of Euro 282.41mn with a trade surplus of Euro 138.65 million in favour of India.

Source: JJ

Image Courtesy:AIR