22.05.2025

At the Presidential Palace in Ljubljana, a meeting was held between the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the President of the Republic of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar in a narrow format and with the participation of official delegations.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Head of our state expressed gratitude to the Slovenian leader for the warm welcome and emphasized that the first summit at the highest level in 20 years would go down in history as the beginning of a new stage in relations between the two countries.

Topical issues on the further development of practical cooperation between Uzbekistan and Slovenia were discussed.

It was noted with satisfaction that political dialogue, contacts at various levels, and business meetings have intensified. Mutual support is being provided within the framework of the UN and other international organizations.

In recent years, trade turnover has tripled. Cultural and tourist exchanges are expanding. A visa-free regime is in place for Slovenian citizens.

To systematize bilateral relations, the importance of establishing a regular dialogue at the highest and high levels was emphasized.

Special attention was given to increasing trade turnover and raising its volume to 500 million euros in the initial stage, primarily through expanding the range of goods and import substitution.

This includes exports from Uzbekistan of textile and fruit and vegetable products, mineral fertilizers, copper goods, and other industrial products, and imports from Slovenia – pharmaceutical products, advanced technologies and equipment.

Opportunities will be explored for utilizing the potential of Slovenia’s Port of Koper as a logistics hub to access the European Union market.

Agreements have been reached on adopting an Industrial Cooperation Program with leading Slovenian companies and implementing projects for the production of modern equipment, industrial and agricultural goods, localization of pharmaceutical production, including products based on honey and medicinal herbs, construction and modernization of energy facilities, and others.

To establish a systemic cooperation in the sphere of labor migration, it was decided to prepare an Agreement on Organized Labor Migration, with the development of training and adaptation programs focusing on language skills, professional qualifications, and labor standards.

Tourism development, particularly in rural and mountainous regions, was identified as a promising area. In the field of education, sides agreed to sign an agreement on mutual recognition of diplomas and launch joint educational programs with the Universities of Ljubljana and Maribor.

Additionally, a joint Youth Forum for Innovative Projects involving universities and research centers from both countries will be held in Tashkent next year.

To strengthen humanitarian exchanges, the sides advocated for organizing cross-cultural Days of Culture and a Week of Uzbek Cinema in the city of Ljubljana.

To advance all agreed objectives, a decision was made to hold the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission in July this year in Ljubljana.

In the end of the meeting, the Head of our state invited the President of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar to pay an official return visit to Uzbekistan at a convenient time.