Slovenian minority holds business conference in Zagreb

"We are aware that the Slovenian minority can help us strike new deals, especially in the countries where we are doing excellent work anyway. Croatia, Hungary, Italy and Austria are our closest markets where we have to absolutely cooperate. And who better to open the doors than the Slovenians living in other countries," Economy Minister Matjaž Han told the STA.

Croatia is an important trade partner for Slovenia and vice-versa, said head of the SLO CRO Business Club Saša Muminović. The economies of the two countries are also complementary so the next step will be to look for synergies and to present jointly in third markets, he said.

Economic cooperation in the entire Alps-Adriatic region is important and will open new possibilities for economists and for small and medium enterprises, Muminović said.

Han and Muminović also presented the goals of the Slovenian minority's economic coordinating committee, which was founded in December 2022, and the incentives planned by the Economy Ministry for the Slovenian minority.

The four-year programme (2025-2028) to stimulate the economy of the Slovenian minorities in Croatia, Italy, Hungary and Austria will offer incentives for economic and tourism investment and fund minority organisations that will implement the programme. The programme is worth EUR 10 million.

Cooperation between the Slovenian minority and Croatia was also in focus of the talks with the Croatian Economy Minister Šušnjar, with whom he met for the first time.

The ministers also discussed the current economic situation and the opportunities to strengthen cooperation.

After the meeting, they visited the Elka company in Zagreb, which is owned by the Iskra Group and is one of the largest electrical cable factories in the region.