The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, meets the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe on the first day of his visit to Japan

Photo: Katase/UPRS

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, and a Slovenian business delegation are currently on a working visit to Japan. On the first day of his visit, President Pahor paid a symbolic visit to the Meiji Shrine, and later met Japanese Prime Minister Abe. In the evening, the President attended a reception in Tokyo for members of the Slovenian business delegation.

The Meiji Shrine is dedicated to the deified spirits of the Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken. Out of a wish to worship their virtues eternally, the shrine was built in 1920 and includes three sections: Naien, the inner precinct with a reliquary; Gaien, the outer precinct with a memorial gallery and sports facilities, and the Meiji Memorial Hall. Extending over 700,000 square metres, it is not only a spiritual sanctuary, but also a place of relaxation and recreation. The complex includes an evergreen wood with a total of 120,000 trees of 365 different species. The trees were donated by people from all over Japan.

Photo: Katase/UPRS

At the bilateral meeting, President Pahor and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed the possibilities of deepening multilevel cooperation, especially economic, between the countries. Premier Abe commended the signing of the Memorandum on cooperation between SPIRIT, the Slovenian public agency and JETRO, the Japan External Trade Organisation. As a priority, Premier Abe particularly stressed an in-depth cooperation on science and technology and announced further intensive bilateral consultations to this end.

The discussion partners spoke about the situation in Eastern Asia and exchanged views on cooperation between the European Union and Japan. President Pahor concluded that Slovenia and Japan must also nurture good political relations in addition to in-depth cooperation and advantages in the economic area. On this occasion, the President invited Prime Minister Abe to visit Slovenia. This year’s Bled Strategic Forum could be the first opportunity for the visit.

In the company of Mr Senčar, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr Rožič, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, President Pahor met the delegation of Slovenian businesspeople in the evening. At a brief working dinner, they discussed the possibilities of strengthening business activities of the Slovenian companies in Japan.

Tomorrow, the President is meeting His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito and then attending a seminar on Japanese-Slovenian technological cooperation hosted by the Japanese New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO). He will view Hitachi’s engagement in the field of smart cities and meet the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Slovenia. President Pahor will end the day at a reception hosted by the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Japan for distinguished representatives of the Japanese public and business.

Photo: Katase/UPRS