The cooperation between Armenia and Slovenia is developing, covering new directions. The Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ararat Mirzoyan, on Wednesday stated this during a joint press conference with his visiting Slovenian colleague, Tone Kajzer, in Yerevan.

Kajzer is accompanied by a delegation of Slovenian businessmen, and today the Armenian-Slovenian business forum will kick off in the Armenian capital.

And earlier today, the two ministers signed a memorandum of understanding on expanded political dialogue between Armenia and Slovenia.

Mirzoyan informed that during their meeting preceding the press conference, the two parties discussed a wide range of bilateral and regional issues and noted with satisfaction the active dynamics of the political dialogue between the two countries. According to the Armenian foreign minister, there are clear directions, successful programs, and mutual willingness to advance the agenda in the economy, healthcare, justice, tourism, education, and several other sectors. Mirzoyan especially emphasized Slovenia's experience in the medical insurance system introduced in Armenia.

The Armenian foreign policy chief noted that the indicator of trade and economic relations between Armenia and Slovenia for the past eight months exceeds the data for the entire previous year. But the bad news is that the numbers are still not great, Mirzoyan noted. Also, the Armenian foreign minister thanked his Slovenian colleague for the important program to assist children affected by the war.

“We talked about regional processes. I presented the [Armenia-Azerbaijan] peace agenda, [Armenia’s] relations with all four immediate neighbors, and Russia,” Mirzoyan added.

He concluded his remarks by pointing to the similarity of the views in Armenia and Slovenia towards honey and bees, and emphasized that the two parties will work like bees.

In turn, Tone Kajzer agreed with what was said, and added that this is the first such visit accompanied by a business delegation since 2010. According to the Slovenian foreign minister, this is evidence of the intention to further improve the excellent relations between Armenia and Slovenia. Kajzer said that 80 percent of Slovenian products are intended for export, and the aforesaid business forum is designed to lay the foundation for new relations between the two countries.

Slovenia offers favorable conditions for business, the minister continued, recalling that being at the crossroads of central European routes, Slovenia provides excellent logistical opportunities and access to the Mediterranean ports of the Schengen zone countries.

According to him, the amount of current trade between Armenia and Slovenia does not yet reflect the potential of the two countries, but there are great prospects in this regard. Despite the lack of direct flights, more and more Slovenian residents are showing interest in Armenia, and the development of tourism should become an assignment for the ambassadors of the two countries, Kajzer noted.

Also, he separately touched upon the prospects for cooperation between Armenia and Slovenia in the aviation and defense sectors. Prosperity is impossible without security, Slovenia is a member of NATO, and this is an additional element of cooperation, the Slovenian foreign minister noted.