 On the margins of the World Economic Forum, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, held bilateral talks on Thursday afternoon and evening with the President of the Republic of Poland, Lech Kaczyñski, the King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, and the President of the Republic of Colombia, Álvaro Uribe Velez. This morning, President Türk had bilateral meetings with the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Ángel Gurría, and the President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres.
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 President Türk exchanged views with President Kaczyñski on the experience gained during the current financial crisis and the steps to be undertaken within exit strategies. President Kaczyñski presented in detail his view on the development achieved by Poland since joining the EU. The two presidents also touched on the issue of co-operation within the Vi¹egrad Group. |
 With King Abdullah II, President Türk discussed current issues related to the Middle East peace process. The two also discussed the Slovenian rehabilitation project for Palestinian children who are victims of war in Gaza. During the meeting, they also devoted some attention to the development of economic co-operation between Slovenia and Jordan as part of the programme of activities that began during the recent visit by a Slovenian business delegation to Jordan. They also touched on the development of tourism. President Türk highlighted, in particular, health and continental tourism in Slovenia. |
 President Uribe informed the Slovenian President of the current situation in negotiations between the European Union and the Republic of Colombia on a new co-operation agreement. He also requested support from Slovenia, as a country within the European Union, in the continuation of the negotiation process. President Uribe presented to President Türk in detail the current situation in Colombia and the two presidents also discussed bilateral co-operation, in particular in the area of energy. President Uribe proposed to Dr Türk that he should promote a visit by a strong Slovenian business delegation to Colombia, to encourage direct discussion of opportunities for economic co-operation. |
 This morning, President Türk met Klaus Schwab. They exchanged views on current priorities for the Forum and on discussions for the future. Both agreed that the European Union should increase its presence at these meetings, not only through the participation of individual presidents, but also as a community. |
 President Türk also met Ángel Gurría of the OECD. In their talks, the two stressed that Slovenia is on the path towards becoming a member of OECD in May 2010, which will bring Slovenia new tasks and opportunities for co-operation. Mr Gurría and Dr Türk agreed that in autumn they should organise a joint project on new development indicators, including environmental, social and other indicators. They also touched on the issue of regional development, increased investments into science and research and on other topics that will be a priority for Slovenia's OECD membership. |
 With President Peres, President Türk discussed preparations for the forthcoming visit by President Peres to Slovenia. Their talks particularly focused on development issues. Israel has some extremely interesting experiences in the development of science and technology, new technologies and new teaching methods. President Türk judged that the visit by the Israeli President could offer Slovenia the chance to learn from these experiences and would be at the same time an opportunity for discussing various political issues, including the situation in the Middle East.
As part of the programme of the World Economic Forum, President Türk also attended an interactive session on the topic "Consideration on the Responsibility to Protect". He also participated in informal meetings of leaders where issues such as sustainable development of agriculture, the global financial system, combating climate change and preventing unemployment were discussed.
At the close of the World Economic Forum, President Türk summarised his impressions, which are also important in understanding Slovenia’s current situation in the world: "In the last few days, I have had many contacts with presidents, analysts and leading commentators in the area of international economic issues, and these contacts tell us how the world perceives Slovenia’s situation at present. I must say that nobody considers Slovenia to be among those states affected so strongly by the crisis to be in need of undertaking serious alleviating measures. On the contrary, Slovenia is perceived as a country that has successfully overcome the first phase of the crisis, and now, when growth in the developed world i.e. in the European Union and North America is slowly recovering, must quickly find new solutions. It is expected that approximately 18 months will be required for intensified investment and new entries of ownership into Slovenia. Moreover, new markets will have to be looked for with great intensity, and certain structural changes will need to be introduced, in particular with regard to flexibility and adaptability of workers in their search for new types of employment, alongside new technologies. These goals might sound too ambitious, but they are necessary. This is the right time; changes will come quickly and it is right that Slovenia shows that it is capable of adjusting quickly to these changes." |