PRESS REVIEW FROM SLOVENIA, JUNE 22, 1992

Ljubljana, 22 June - THE DELO: SLOVENIA: WE DO NOT BEG FOR AID, BUT SEEK COOPERATION - As membership in the Brettonwood Institute, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank draw within reach of Slovenia, it does not necessarily mean that only milk and honey will flow, wrote Božo Mašanovič upon the third meeting of the International Forum in Crans Montana. The average annual income per capita in Slovenia has us bordering on those countries that can still apply for World Bank loans, but judging by the economy's tempo of development, it may happen that Ljubljana will be contributing money to the fund for loans to the less developed lands already by the end of this decade. Although this statement was made more or less in jest by World Bank Director for Central Europe Kemal Dervis, it nonetheless true that a country with an average annual income of from U.S. dollars 5,000 to 6,000 per inhabitant can hardly hope to be listed among those in need of subsidized loans for any long stretch of time. Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek assured the economists gathered in the Regent Congress Centre that the Slovenian economy is gradually surmounting the difficulties caused by the transition from one economic system to another and by the political crisis in former Yugoslavia. The country's companies have also already in part covered the loss of the former Yugoslav markets with exports to other European countries and here is where the Slovenian Government also sees greater long-term perspectives for the country. This evaluation was supported by Head of the Political Secretariat of the Swiss Foreign Ministry, Guy Ducrecy, who stated that Slovenia's average annual per capita income ranked it among Ireland and Greece, both of which are members of the European Community. The author of the article concluded by listing the difficulties Slovenia was currently grappling with and which were pointed out by Dr. Kračun and the country's Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel. The crux of these are that the economy is weighed down on the one side by inflation and unemployment and on the other side by the 62,000 refugees seeking haven in our country (a figure which amounts to a good 3 percent of the national population).