There is a shortage of dialogue between Slovenia and Armenia, which is why both sides are working to improve communication and economic ties, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel told the press after meeting his Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanyan in Ljubljana on Friday October 24.

Oskanyan, who began his two-day visit to Slovenia on Thursday, expressed his delight with the visit and said that he too would like to see cooperation between the countries improved, especially in the fields of European integration and the economy.

Oskanyan's visit included meetings with the president of the Chamber of Commerce (GZS), Jozko Cuk, and Prime Minister Anton Rop. He described Thursday's talks with Cuk on ways to promote economic ties as "very productive". The officials agreed on the staging of business forums in the respective countries.

Meanwhile, Rupel reiterated that Armenia is a member of numerous international organizations, including the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Slovenia is happy that it can participate in the expansion of European institutions towards Asia. He reiterated that it will be Slovenia's duty to promote this as the OSCE president in 2005.

The Slovene foreign minister underscored that Armenia still has some open issues, particularly with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Slovenia will work to give assistance so that these matters could be resolved, he added. Oskanyan confirmed that Armenia is facing several problems. However, he was hopeful that these issues would be resolved before Slovenia assumes the OSCE presidency.

The Armenian FM explained that his country was interested in cooperating in various fields, including the services sector, banking, information technology, science and research. The task of the foreign ministries, he said, is to create suitable mechanisms for the establishment of cooperation, while the decision on what fields collaboration should take place is for business officials to make.

As Rupel explained, Slovenia and Armenia are already working together in demining efforts. The Slovene-run International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF) is active in Armenia. The country is said to be happy with ITF's work, Rupel said.

Slovenia can be an important political partner for Armenia, added Oskanyan, mainly because of its experiences with EU accession and its upcoming OSCE presidency.

Trade between Slovenia and Armenia is rather scarce. This year, it amounted to a mere 750,000 dollars, down by over 20 per cent from last year. Slovenia's exports totalled 749,000 dollars, with imports standing at a mere 1,000 dollars. Armenia is largely interested in Slovene companies entering its market and investing there.

So far, the two countries have only signed an agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations and a protocol on cooperation between both foreign ministries.