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Dubai / WAM
Slovenian Foreign Minister Miro Cerar is currently on a working visit to UAE, with first stop being the site of Expo 2020 in Dubai, where he met Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Director-General of Expo 2020 Dubai, reported the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), quoting the country’s foreign ministry.
“Cerar visited the site of the future world exposition in the outskirts of Dubai, where countries are busy setting up their national pavilions, with the host country providing the necessary infrastructure,” the agency said.
Slovenia and the UAE are partners in the Green Group of six small countries, established by the former in 2009. The group points to issues related to sustainable development and the importance of the preservation of waters and clean environment, added STA.
Cerar and Al Hashemy also discussed how to better connect the two countries and the possibility to establish a scheduled airline link from the UAE to Slovenia.
Meeting Al Hashemy, who is also the UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, Cerar presented the concept of Slovenia’s participation in the Expo, which features a wooden pavilion and a theme inspired by
sustainable development.
“Slovenia has a rich tradition in spa tourism and pristine nature, which attracts guests from all parts of the world,” said Cerar, adding that an airline link would certainly boost tourism
between the countries.
Moreover, according to STA, the two officials also talked about the possibility to connect experts in artificial intelligence from the two countries. “The UAE is the only country in the world which has minister for artificial intelligence,” it noted.
Cerar told Al Hashemy that Unesco’s International Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, IRCAI, is opening soon in Slovenia, and that the country is interested in collaborating on research centres.
Al Hashemy said that the UAE “very much appreciated Slovenia opening an embassy in Abu Dhabi,” which she believes will be an important link between the countries. The first Slovenian embassy in a Gulf country has been operating since 2018, and will be officially inaugurated by Cerar on Tuesday, added STA.