At his meeting with Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov at Slovenian Parliament (Ljubljana), Chairman of National Council of the Republic of Slovenia Mitja Bervar said that Slovenia is interested in expanding cooperation with Russia. Mitja Bervar briefly told about political system of Slovenia, and said that cooperation with Russia is maintained on a good level and new opportunities for developing relations are being worked out. Rustam Minnikhanov, in his turn, thanked for the meeting that is especially important on the threshold of a session of the Intergovernmental Slovenian-Russian Commission. Summing up, Mitja Bervar said: “We should respect each other’s interests under current unstable political situation.”

At his meeting with Minister of Economic Development and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia Zdravko Počivalšek, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov suggested holding the next session of Russia-Slovenia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade-Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation in Kazan. Minnikhanov thanked the Slovenian party for an opportunity to visit the country, learn more about its economy and main areas of development. According to him, the level of economic relations between Slovenia and Tatarstan has been low so far, while the potential is huge. He briefed on social and economic environment in the region, pointing out the most important industries for the economy. These include oil production, petrochemistry and oil prosessing, machine-building, aircraft building, production of industrial compressors, radio-electronics, shipbuilding and others. Tatarstan President mentioned pharmaceutics, agriculture, wood working and IT sphere as promising areas for mutually beneficial cooperation. In his turn Zdravko Počivalšek also agreed with the opinion that the turnover between Slovenia and Tatarstan could be boosted. Russia is a priority country to cooperate with, he said, adding that Slovenian pharmaceutical, household and other products are delivered to Russia. “I am sure we will be able to achieve good results in the future,” he said.

At a Slovenian-Tatar business forum at Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Ljubljana it was noted that Slovenian businessmen are interested in Russian economy and are willing to develop cooperation with Russia. Opening the event, the moderator of the forum said that Slovenian and Tatarstan Chambers of Commerce and Industry signed an agreement on cooperation, and Tatarstan businessmen have access to information about mutually beneficial relations with Slovenian businessmen. It was noted that Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a reliable partner for businessmen. Doku Zavgayev noted that Russia-Slovenia relations are sustainably developing, and for the first time the trade turnover made 2 billion dollars in 2013. According to Zavgayev, small and medium-sized businesses play important role in economic development in both countries. “Good legal framework was created between our countries, and it suggests high potential of our relations,” he said. Minnikhanov stressed that the republic is ready to provide all conditions for business development for anyone willing to open plants in the republic. “I am sure that Slovenian businessmen will get necessary information from the presentation of economic potential of the republic, and find joint projects for further realization,” Minnikhanov said. Tatarstan Minister of Industry and Trade Ravil Zaripov and Minister of Agriculture and Food Marat Akhmetov made presentation at the forum.



Later on, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov met Vice Speaker of Hungary's National Assembly Janos Latorcai at Hungarian Parliament in Budapest. Ambassador of Russia to Hungary Vladimir Sergeev took part in the meeting. Mr. Janos Latorcai welcomed the guests and wished them a successful visit that will favour strengthening of Russia-Hungary relations. Speaking at the meeting, Rustam Minnikhanov said: “We appreciate the opportunity of developing cooperation between Tatarstan and Hungary.” Minnikhanov noted that a representative delegation arrived in Hungary from Tatarstan, and the main purpose of the visit is expansion of trade-economic, scientific-technical and cultural contacts. Janos Latorcai stated that good relations have been established between Russia and Hungary. “Russia is our closest partner, and strengthening bilateral relations is important for us. We are willing to establish serious relations with Tatarstan and are planning to open Consulate-General of Hungary in Kazan,” he said. Speaking about education, Mr. Latorcai said that Hungary si going to provide 200 scholarships for Russian students and expressed his hope that there will be students from Tatarstan as well.

During his working visit to Budapest, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov met executives of the Guttler Company within the framework of Hungarian-Tatarstan business forum. Representatives of the company told about their produce and intentions to cooperation with Tatarstan in the field of agriculture. The Guttler specializes in manufacturing of soil-processing agricultural machinery, featuring the use of prismatic rollers.According to company specialists, using this machinery contributes to improving yields. The production facilities of the company are located Germany, Switzerland and Hungary. Minnikhanov suggested testing the Guttler machinery during the next sowing campaign.

Later on the same day, Minnikhanov met representatives of the Hungarian investment company “Evopro”. The company has its subsidiaries in Germany and Romania, employing about 1,000 people. In 2013, the company revenue made 70 mln Euro. Among other businesses, the Evopro manufactures modular public busses. Representatives of the company told about advantages of modular bus production and suggested considering the possibility to launch their production facility at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan. Minnikhanov said that to implement this project they need a partner company and offered to discuss variants of cooperation with the KAMAZ Automaker. As a result of the meeting, a working group, including machine-building specialists, will be created to see into the issue.




President of the Republic of Tatarstan - official web site

Government of the Republic of Tatarstan - official web site