Slovenian President Attends FDI Conference

Ljubljana, 13.10.2011  |  press release

The Slovenian president, Dr Danilo Türk, attended the FDI Summit Slovenia 2011 – an international conference on foreign direct investments. In his address, he emphasised that, during the financial and economic crisis, stable forms of international economic cooperation are becoming increasingly important, with foreign direct investments certainly ranking high among them. Mr Türk recalled that Slovenia has traditionally been a relatively conservative environment as far as foreign direct investments are concerned. However, Slovenia has had some very successful foreign investments which have proven to be long-term oriented, promising and very well accepted by our economy and the public at large. By way of example, he mentioned Hella Saturnus, a company which has successfully combined German capital, Slovenian experience, and market opportunities in various parts of the world.

The Slovenian president went on to define how to contribute to an increase in the volume of foreign direct investments by using extra energy and imagination. He first mentioned the promotion of investments from parts of the world where they have not yet been forthcoming, an example being the recent investment made by the Serbian company, Nectar, in the Slovenian company, Fructal. Slovenia should also redouble its efforts in order to attract investments from other parts of the world. In this regard, Mr Türk referred to a small number of investments from the US. Thirdly, the Slovenian president highlighted the possibility of Slovenia being a potential hub for investments in other regions, not only in the Balkans, but also the more remote regions in the East. Mr Türk then went on to emphasise that foreign direct investment is not just about capital, profit or economic gain, but also about bringing countries together and promoting a culture of cooperation.