NEWS

Prime Minister attends investment conference in Milan

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Alenka Bratušek, attended the third investment conference, organised in Milan, where privatisation of state shareholdings in selected Slovenian companies and the opportunities for foreign direct investment in Slovenia were presented to foreign companies. The conference was also attended by the President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, Enrico Letta, and hosted 179 Italian companies, confirming that economic cooperation between the two countries can further be strengthened in the future.

 

In her speech at the investment conference, the Slovenian Prime Minister pointed out that Italy was the second largest export market for Slovenia and also its major import market in 2012. "Trade in goods has increased steadily, except in 2009. In 2012, export to Italy amounted to EUR 2.4 billion and import from Italy to EUR 4 billion; the total value of trade in goods reached EUR 6.4 billion. Trade in services has been constantly increasing; in 2012 it amounted to EUR 1.3 billion. Italy ranks third in terms of the volume of the foreign direct investments to Slovenia," explained Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek.

 

She said that in Slovenia there are numerous companies of all sizes in Italian ownership. Italian investors see Slovenia as an attractive destination for the expansion of their activities since they appreciate its motivated workforce with language skills, appropriate fiscal environment, favourable geographical location, export orientation, innovation and other factors. Slovenian small and medium-sized companies can be ideal partners to Italian enterprises looking for new markets and locations. The Slovenian Prime Minister stressed that our cooperation has been good, but there are still untapped opportunities: "Slovenia currently receives EUR 11.7 billion of foreign direct investments, of which 7 percent come from Italy. In addition to the privatisation and investment opportunities on which today's conference is focused, Italian companies also have other possibilities to expand their activities to Slovenia (tourism, car industry, etc.)."

 

Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek concluded the opening address with the following words: "Italy and Slovenia share common values and policies that provide a foundation for political and economic partnership. I believe that there are still ample opportunities for cooperation and that our relations, that have so far been very good, hold considerable potential for the future."