Coat of arms: is a shield with the image of Mount Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak, in white against a blue background at the centre; beneath it are two wavy blue lines representing the Adriatic Sea and local rivers, and above it are three six-pointed golden stars arranged in an inverted triangle which are taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of Celje, the great Slovenian dynastic house of the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
Flag: features three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red, with the Slovenian coat of arms located in the upper hoist side of the flag centred in the white and blue bands.
- Anthem: «Himna slovenskega naroda» is the national anthem of Slovenia.
- Official languages: Slovene.
- Geographical location: it is a sovereign state located in southern Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and the Adriatic Sea to the southwest.
- Administrative divisions: Slovenia is subdivided into 212 municipalities (eleven of which have the status of urban municipalities).
- Capital: Ljubljana.
- Governance: the politics of Slovenia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Slovenia is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Government of Slovenia. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly and in minor part in the National Council. The judiciary of Slovenia is independent of the executive and the legislature.
- Population: 2.065 million.
- Currency: Euro.
- GDP: $39.7 billion.
- Time zone: GMT +1.
- Telephone code: +386.
- Barcode: 383.
Trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Slovenia
Slovenia's economic performance:
- GDP — €39.7 billion;
- GDP per capita — €18 693 thousand;
- GDP growth — 2.5%;
- Exports — €24.9 billion (+4.0%);
- Imports — €24.1 billion (+3.3%);
- Inflation — 1.8%;
- Unemployment — 8.1%.
Slovenia's Most Valuable Export Products:
- Machinery;
- Vehicles;
- Pharmaceutical products;
- Wood and articles thereof;
- Electronics and telecommunications equipment;
- General rubber goods.
Political cooperation
Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Slovenia were established on July 23, 1992.
The diplomatic presence of Belarus in Slovenia from December 2008 to February 2019 was carried out through the Embassy of Belarus in Hungary. Since February 2019, part-time in Slovenia, the Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to Austria has been accredited.
In Belarus, the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the Russian Federation is accredited in combination.
Offices of honorary consuls of Slovenia and Belarus operate in Minsk and Ljubljana. The Honorary Consul of Belarus in Slovenia, the head of the RIKO company, Janez Shkrabets, took up his duties in the fall of 2016.
In recent years, Belarus and Slovenia have made effective efforts to enhance political dialogue. In 2009-2010 and 2016-2017. visits were exchanged at the level of heads of foreign affairs agencies; bilateral inter-MFA consultations at the level of deputy ministers, as well as meetings of the intergovernmental Belarusian-Slovenian commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation, acquired regular character.
The legal framework of bilateral relations
The basis of the legal framework of bilateral relations is the following documents:
1. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on the conditions for the rehabilitation of Belarusian children in the Republic of Slovenia dated 07.29.2011;
2. The Convention between the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Slovenia on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion in respect of taxes on income and capital of 06.10.2010;
3. Protocol between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on the establishment of the Intergovernmental Belarusian-Slovenian Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation of 06.04.2010;
4. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on international automobile passenger and freight transportation of 15.10.2002;
5. Agreement between the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Slovenia on the establishment of diplomatic relations of 23.07.1992;
6. Agreement between the Government of the BSSR and the Executive Assembly of the Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation of 03.06.1991.
Trade, economic and investment cooperation
Belarusian-Slovenian trade is characterized by relatively small volumes. This is explained by the low capacity of the Slovenian market, as well as its inaccessibility for Belarusian manufacturers due to the action of tariff and non-tariff measures of the EU, expensive logistics, high level of competition, primarily from the neighboring countries of Slovenia.
Indicators of the Belarusian-Slovenian trade in goods in 2015 — 2019 (million US dollars)
|
Year |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2019 as compared to 2018, % |
|
Turnover |
80.1 |
70.0 |
79.6 |
106.1 |
123.0 |
115.9 |
|
Export |
8.9 |
10.0 |
12.6 |
12.4 |
11.5 |
92.2 |
|
Import |
71.2 |
60.0 |
67.0 |
93.7 |
111.5 |
119.0 |
|
Surplus |
-62.3 |
-50.0 |
-54.4 |
-81.3 |
-100.0 |
In 2019, bilateral trade amounted to $ 123.0 million (115.9% compared to 2018), exports - $ 11.5 million (92.2%), imports - $ 111.5 million (119, 0%). The balance for Belarus was negative in the amount of $ 100 million.
In 2019, deliveries were carried out in 48 positions (4-digit HS code), in 2018 - 40.
The basis of exports was made up of the following goods:
|
|
Product name |
Cost (thousand US dollars |
|
|
1 |
Synthetic non-combed fibers |
6 174,7 |
|
|
2 |
Electrical equipment for ignition and start-up of internal combustion engines |
2 270,4 |
|
|
3 |
Artificial and finished waxes |
835,3 |
|
|
4 |
Electric motors and generators |
478,1 | |
| 5 | Other furniture and parts thereof | 266,8 | |
| 6 | Synthetic threads | 258,4 | |
| 7 | Other cast iron products | 236,1 | |
| 8 | Glued plywood | 203,5 | |
| 9 | Wood, soda or sulphate cellulose | 127,1 | |
| 10 | Sawn timber | 105,8 |
The largest positions of Slovenian supplies to Belarus are:
|
|
Product name |
Cost (thousand US dollars |
|
1 |
Retail Drugs |
34 222.1 |
|
2 |
Remotes, panels, tables for electrical equipment |
11 092.7 |
|
3 |
Machines and devices for lifting, moving, loading or unloading |
6 511.2 |
|
4 |
Electric transformers |
4 886.9 |
| 5 | Flat products made of stainless steel, 600 mm wide or more | 4 244.5 |
| 6 | Other food products | 3 233.8 |
| 7 | Vaccines, blood serum, blood | 3 225.0 |
| 8 | Electric batteries | 3 112.0 |
| 9 | Equipment for controlling electric current for voltages above 1000 V | 2 949.0 |
| 10 | Paints and varnishes based on synthetic polymers in a non-aqueous medium | 2 905.3 |
In 2019, the volume of trade in services amounted to 57.3 million dollars (or 135.1% to the level of 2018), exports - 26.7 million dollars (118.5%), imports - 30.6 million dollars (153 ,nine %). The balance for Belarus was negative - $ 3.9 million.
Indicators of the Belarusian-Slovenian trade in services in 2015 — 2019 (million US dollars)
|
Year |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2019 as compared to 2018, % |
|
Turnover |
56.9 |
44.6 |
29,2 |
42.4 |
57.3 |
135.1 |
|
Export |
25.5 |
19.1 |
12.4 |
22.5 |
26,7 |
118.5 |
|
Import |
31.4 |
25.5 |
16.8 |
19.9 |
30.6 |
153.9 |
|
Surplus |
5,9 |
-6.3 |
-4.4 |
2.6 |
-3.9 |
In 2019, Slovenia received investments in the amount of 894.5 thousand dollars (55.2% compared to the level of 2018), including 498.0 thousand dollars of direct investments (34.5%).
In Slovenia there are no representative offices, subsidiaries, or entities of the distribution network of Belarusian enterprises.
There are 11 enterprises with Slovenian capital in Belarus, including 6 joint ventures and 5 foreign enterprises.
An important tool for the development of bilateral economic cooperation since 2011 is the Belarusian-Slovenian commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation, the last (8th) meeting of which was held on February 3-4, 2020 in Ljubljana.
The parties identified energy, construction, engineering, agriculture, telecommunications, and tourism as the priority areas for cooperation in the near future.
Links:
- Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia;
- Agency for Agricultural Markets and Rural Development;
- Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia;
- InvestSlovenia.
This article has been prepared on the basis of information provided by the National Centre for Marketing and Price Study of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in Hungary, and taken from public sources. The information presented herein is for informative purposes only. In this regard, it may be useful for the companies, which have been working in Slovenia for a long time, as well as for those, which are going to enter this market. Any questions, feedbacks and comments concerning this article are welcome. All of them will be fully considered and taken into account, if possible. If you have any information that may be interesting and useful for the visitors of this page, please write to us.
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