Tokyo, 19 May (STA) - National Council President Marko Lotrič addressed a business forum in Tokyo on Monday as part of his week-long visit to Japan, stressing the importance of boosting cooperation between the two countries. Slovenia is an ideal partner for Japanese companies looking to enter the European market, he said.
The business forum, dedicated to new business synergies between Slovenia and Japan was organised by Spirit Slovenia in cooperation with the Manager Association, the Slovenian embassy in Tokyo and the Japanese agency Jetro. It focused on the challenges of future mobility, the automotive industry 5.0 and the digital and green transformation.
Slovenian car suppliers are small in size but big when it comes to innovation and adaptability, Lotrič said. Slovenia's position as a geographic and economic hub in Europe makes it an ideal partner for Japanese companies looking to enter the European market, Lotrič was quoted as saying by Spirit.
"Together we can develop smart, sustainable and safe mobility solutions of the future," Lotrič said. He recalled the successful cooperation between Slovenian grid operator Eles and the Japanese agency Nedo in developing a smart electricity network.
Lotrič is also accompanied in Japan by a business delegation. Iztok Seljak, head of the Manager Association and coordinator of the Slovenian automotive industry stressed the importance of a strategic reflection on the future of business cooperation between Japan and Europe. The two were among leading global powers until recently but have been taken over by other competitors in the last decade, Seljak said.
"If we want to take the leading role again, we have to change, return to the roots, to our core values and to what we know best," he said, adding that it was time to stop following global trends.
Spirit Slovenia's Zoran Stamatovski presented Slovenia's business and investment environment. Slovenia is a stable, open and highly innovative environment with a strategic position in the heart of Europe, a well-developed infrastructure and access to the European market. It also has expertise in green technology, advanced production and robotics, Stamatovski said, adding that this makes it interesting for Japanese partners.
Slovenian Ambassador to Japan Jurij Rifelj described the bilateral relations as excellent, with a lively and regular high-level political dialogue. "Cooperation between the countries is not based on the sizes of the markets but on the quality of solutions and trust," he said, adding that Slovenia can offer Japan knowledge, expert engineers and innovative technological solutions.
In the coming days the Slovenian delegation will meet potential Japanese partners, visit companies in Tokyo and Osaka and the Slovenian pavilion at the Expo 2025 Osaka.
