Armenia and Slovenia signed a Memorandum of Understanding to expand political dialogue.

ArmInfo. Armenia and Slovenia signed a Memorandum of Understanding to expand political dialogue between the foreign ministries of the two countries. The document was signed on October 28 in Yerevan following talks between Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Slovenian counterpart, Tone Kaiser.

At a joint press conference following the signing ceremony, Mirzoyan expressed satisfaction with the active bilateral dynamics and expressed confidence that the memorandum signed today will play a role in developing cooperation by promoting the existing agenda. He added that a wide range of bilateral and regional issues were discussed during the talks.

According to the Armenian minister, there are specific areas, programs with successful experience, and a mutual willingness to advance the agenda in the economic sector, healthcare, justice, tourism, education, and a number of other areas. Mirzoyan particularly noted Slovenia's experience in implementing the health insurance system in Armenia.

"Trade and economic relations were also a focus of our attention. It must be noted that the figures are growing. Over the past eight months, the trade and economic relations figures exceed the figures for the entire last year.

"That's good news. The bad news is that the figures are still small," he added. In this vein, he announced that an Armenian-Slovenian business forum would open in Yerevan today, which he and his Slovenian counterpart would open.

The Armenian Foreign Minister also thanked his Slovenian counterpart for the important program supporting children affected by the war and their parents. He recalled that for several years now, children and their parents have been traveling to Slovenia for rehabilitation. He added that the Armenian side hopes that this program will be continued in the future.

Mirzoyan noted that current regional processes were also touched upon, and in this context, he presented the world agenda, relations with all four immediate neighbors, and with Russia.

In turn, Kaiser expressed agreement with everything his Armenian counterpart said. "I am here as part of a business delegation. This is the first such visit since 2010. We are visiting Yerevan accompanied by a business delegation. This reflects our intention to translate good political relations into concrete economic results," the Slovenian official said. Kaiser noted in this regard that 80% of Slovenia's production is intended for export, and the business forum is intended to be the launch pad for new relations. He noted that Slovenia offers favorable conditions for international business and noted that the Slovenian government is striving to make business more predictable and reliable. Kaiser also noted that, being located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Slovenia offers excellent logistics opportunities and access to Mediterranean ports in the Schengen Area.

"Despite the lack of direct flights, more and more Slovenians are showing interest in beautiful Armenia, and developing tourism should be a priority for ambassadors," Kaiser noted, also pointing to the potential for cooperation in aviation and defense, as well as the importance of searching for missing persons.