India- Relations

Slovenia, formerly a part of erstwhile , attained Independence in 1991. India recognized Slovenia on 11 May 1992. Soon after our recognition, the then Foreign Minister of Slovenia Dr. visited India on 18 May 1992. Slovenia sought Indian support for membership at the UN and for guest membership of the Non-Aligned Movement. Slovenia was admitted into the UN on 23 May 1992.

Opening of Resident Missions

Slovenia opened its resident mission in New Delhi on 1 August 2002. The Mission was initially headed by Charge d’Affaires. The representation was upgraded to Ambassador level in September 2009. India opened its resident Mission in in February 2007.

High-level Visits

There have been a number of high level visits between the two countries. From the Indian side, Hon’ble Speaker Smt. Meira Kumar along with a Parliamentary delegation visited Slovenia from 26-30 May 2013. Smt. Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs visited Slovenia in September 2013 to participate in the Bled Strategic Forum. She had also attended the Bled Strategic Forum in August 2009 and August 2010. Shri Anand Sharma, the then Minister of State for External Affairs visited Slovenia in March 2008. Other ministerial visits include those by MOS for Science & Technology Prof. Y.K. Alagh (February 1997) and MOS for (Revenue) Shri Gingee N. Ramachandran (January 2003). Shri Satinder K. Lambah, Special Envoy, Office of the Prime Minister attended the Bled Strategic Forum in September 2012. He was one of the speakers at a panel on “Central Asia and Afghanistan after 2012.”

From the Slovene side, former President Dr. Janez Drnovsek attended the Satyagraha Centenary Conference in New Delhi in January 2007. He met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. In January 2006, President Drnovsek had also attended the inauguration ceremony of International Conference on Human values organised by the Art of Living Foundation in Bangalore. Former President Dr. Danilo Turk attended the Delhi Sustainable Summit in February 2010. On the margins of the meeting, Dr. Turk had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. As Prime Minister, Mr. paid a State Visit to India in June 2011. He was accompanied by Health Minister, Economy Minister, Transport Minister and a large business delegation. The delegation visited Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. The visit focused on enhancement of economic cooperation and strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mr. Karl Erjavec visited India in November 2013 to attend the 11th ASEM FMM. Other high level visits included those by former Foreign Minister Dr. Dimitrij Rupel, Minister for Economic Development and Technology Mr. Zerjav Radovan, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Relations, Dr. Dravorin Kracun, Ministers for Science and Technology Dr. Rado Bohinc, Dr. Lojze Marincek and Dr. Jure Zupan.

Agreements

 Agreement on setting up Joint Committee on Bilateral Trade and Cooperation (1993)  Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (1995)  Agreement between FICCI/ASSOCHAM and the Slovene Chamber of Commerce and Industry to set up Joint Business Council (1995)  Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations (1996)  Cultural Agreement for cooperation in the fields of culture, arts, education, sports and (1996)  National Centre for Trade Information, India (NCTI) – Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia (CCS) Agreement for reciprocal sharing of information (1997)  Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (2003)  Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) – Slovenian Export Corporation (SEC) Cooperation Framework Agreement (2003)  Bilateral Air Services Agreement (2004)  MOU between ICCR and for establishment of Hindi Chair (2009)  Agreement on Mutual Promotion and Protection of Investments (2011)  MOU between the Bureau of Indian Standards and Slovenian Institute for Standardization (2011)  MOU between the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and University of Nova Gorica for Cooperation in the Field of Research and Education (2011)  MOU for the establishment of Long Term Chair of Hindi at Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana (2011)  MOU between Air India, Aerodrom Ljubljana and (2011)  Protocol amending the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (2012)  Agreement on Short-Stay Visa Waiver for Holders of Diplomatic Passports (2013)  Agreement between Air India and Adria Airways on code-sharing arrangements (2013)  MOU between Prasar Bharati and RTV on Co-operation in Broadcasting (2013)

India-Slovenia Foreign Office Consultations

Foreign Office Consultations (FOCs) are held at regular intervals. The eighth session of India-Slovenia FOCs took place in Ljubljana on 3 February 2014. Indian side was led by Shri Rahul Chhabra, Joint Secretary (Central Europe) in the Ministry of External Affairs. Mr. Tadej Rupel, Director General, Directorate for Bilateral relations and European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs headed the Slovenian delegation.

Bilateral Trade

In 2012, the total bilateral trade in goods stood at €289.69m with India enjoying a trade surplus of €128.23m. During 2013, the total bilateral trade in goods stood at €282.41. India’s trade surplus was €138.65m.

India participated, for the fifth time, in the International Trade Fair in in September 2013. A large business delegation accompanied then Prime Minister Borut Pahor during his state visit to India (June 2011). The delegation visited Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Former Minister of Economic Development and Technology Mr. Zerjav Radovan accompanied by a business delegation visited New Delhi, Agra and Kolkata (27-31 Jan 2013).

Science and Technology

Joint Committee of Science and Technology cooperation was established through an agreement in 1993. India-Slovenia Joint Working Group on Science and Technology met in Ljubljana in November 2010. 12 joint projects were identified for implementation during 2010-2013. Both sides are in the process of implementing the new joint projects for 2014-2016.

Cultural

Consequent on signing of a MoU between ICCR and the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, a Hindi Chair has been set up at the University. A Programme of cooperation in the Field of Culture, Arts, Education, Science, Sports and Mass Media for the period 2010-2014 was signed between India and Slovenia on 15 March 2010. A bust of Jawaharlal Nehru was unveiled at Dobrovo, Goriska Brda on 28 May 2013. A statue of Mahatma Gandhi, donated by ICCR, was installed at Slovenj Gradec on 1 October 2010. A bust of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, donated by ICCR, was set up on 25 November 2011 in the Municipality of - the Cultural Capital of Europe for 2012.

The Mission organised the “Days of India in Slovenia” festival from 18-30 January 2014. The festival was supported by Ministry of External Affairs - in particular its Public Diplomacy Division - the Consulate General of India at Milan, the RTA Agency of Slovenia as well as the Government, Municipalities and Universities of Slovenia. The festival included music concerts, photo exhibition on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, Indian film shows, seminars on Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.

Gurudev Tagore Week was organised during the month of May 2014. This was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport; ICPE; the Municipality of Maribor; and the University of Maribor. The events included a musical concert, painting exhibitions in Ljubljana and Maribor, commemorative ceremony at the Statue of Gurdev Tagore in Maribor, the screening of a Tagore film – Ghare Baire - at the Ethnographic museum in Ljubljana, and a public lecture on Tagore at the University of Maribor.

The Mission has been organizing ICCR sponsored cultural events in collaboration with local co-sponsors which are widely acclaimed in Slovenia. The Government of Karnataka sponsored Pandit Narasimhalu (2011), Dr. Mysore Manjunath (2012) and Dr. Suma Sudhindra (2013) on the occasion of the Republic Day celebrations.

Slovene Parliamentary Friendship Group with India

Mr. Janez Ribic is Chairman of the Slovene Parliamentary Friendship Group with India for the year 2011-15. The Parliamentary Friendship Group with India was established on 6 February 2009. The Chairman of the previous Friendship Group accompanied by two more members visited India in November 2009 at the invitation of Government of India.

Indian Community

There are about 150 Indian nationals/PIOs in Slovenia. Most of them are employed, with some married to Slovene nationals.

For more information and latest updates please visit Embassy of India, Ljubljana website http://www.indianembassy.si/eng/ Embassy of India, Ljubljana Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/eoi.ljubljana

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May 2014