Ground-breaking talks: President Hosni Mubarak (R) sharing a joke with Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor before their meeting in Ljubljana yesterday. Mubarak wrapped up yesterday an official two-day visit to Slovenia, after which he left for neighbouring Croatia, the third leg in a European tour.
LJUBLJANA - President Hosni Mubarak yesterday agreed with Slovenian officials to set up business council between both countries to be launched during Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor visit to Cairo later this year.Pahor, leading a big business delegation, is expected to visit Egypt in December.
During talks with Pahor, the Egyptian leader agreed to start a programme between the Egyptian universi-ties and their Slovenian counterpart involving exchange of professors and scholarships for students.The two sides, moreover, agreed to co-operate with a Slovenian fund for removing mines planted for decades in Egypt's Northwest Coast, reported Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MEN).During the talks, Mubarak, on a ground-breaking trip to East Europe, also agreed to study the possible export of Egyptian liquefied natural gas to Slovenia and offering facilities to Egyptian investors there, added the agency.Later in the day, Mubarak arrived in Croatia and started talks on boosting cooperation between both countries. TheEgyptian leader started on Tuesday a European tour, which will also take him to Italy. The current visit is the first by an Egyptian head of state to Croatia since its independence in 1991. Egyptian exports to Croatia were estimated at 18 million dollars last year, compared to 6 million dollars in 2004, according to Egyptian officials.Meanwhile, Croatia exported 52 million dollars worth of products to Egypt in 2008 compared to 16 million dollars in 2004. The bulk of Croatian investments in Egypt are in the oil and natural gas industries.Mubarak is accompanied in his tour by a top-level delegation comprising ministers of investment and trade, the Chief of Intelligence Service and Foreign Minister.
