Slovenian Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Andrej Bertoncelj has expressed his hopes for stronger ties between Slovenian and Japanese companies.
In an interview with The Japan News in Tokyo Mr Bertoncelj highlighted Slovenia’s advantages.
“We have a very highly skilled and educated workforce,” he said. “Sixty percent of young people go to universities. As a small nation, each of us speaks one or two foreign languages to some extent.”
“It’s a country that can serve well as sort of a hub for neighboring counties, like Austria, Italy and Hungary. We have the Port of Koper,” he added.
In recent years, Japanese companies have begun to grow their businesses in Slovenia to boost production for the European market and increase their presence in the area. This year alone, Kitakyushu-based Yasukawa Electric Corp. launched its first European industrial robot manufacturing facility in Slovenia, and Kobe-based Sumitomo Rubber Industries launched a new production site there to manufacture rubber parts for medical equipment.
