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This summary is provided by the STA:
Wang and Cerar hail US-China deal as good news
LJUBLJANA - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed a preliminary trade agreement the US and China reached on Friday as "good news for the entire world" as he visited Slovenia on Saturday. The agreement, as part of which the US will not impose new tariffs on Chinese imports on Sunday, was also welcomed by Slovenian Foreign Minister Miro Cerar at a news conference after meeting Wang. "There are no winners in a trade war," Wang said, stressing raising tariffs was not the right way of addressing trade tensions. However, he noted the two sides still had a number of issues to address.
Chinese FM urges multilateralism as he discusses relations, cooperation with Cerar
LJUBLJANA - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged protecting multilateralism against unilateralism as he and his Slovenian counterpart Miro Cerar discussed bilateral relations, EU-China cooperation, and the 17+1 initiative, which brings together 17 Central and East European countries plus China, as part of his official visit to Slovenia. Cerar noted China was an indispensable strategic partner of the EU's even if the two sides did not always share the same positions. "We have different stances or standards in the EU and China, but we need to discuss it with respect and openly, but most of all we must seek common areas of cooperation, enhance constructive relations and respect each other." Wang also met other senior officials, including President Borut Pahor and PM Marjan Šarec.
Govt attempts to revive Ljubljana-based ICPE
LJUBLJANA - Seasoned diplomat Andrej Logar has been tasked with reviving the Ljubljana-based International Center for Promotion of Enterprises (ICPE) after it was neglected for years, having been established in 1974 at the UN's initiative to promote international cooperation of developing countries when Slovenia was still part of Yugoslavia, a leading Non-Aligned Movement country. He believes keeping the seat of the centre in Ljubljana could make Slovenia an important centre of multilateral diplomacy. "Everyone is talking about strengthening multilateralism but since Slovenia does not have intensive contacts with African and Asian states as potential ICPE members, the centre could be an important instrument of Slovenia's foreign policy," he said in an interview for the daily Večer.
Governor happy with situation in banking, sees some challenges ahead
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia's banking system is stable, and lending practices and bank oversight are better than in the past, the central bank governor, Boštjan Vasle, said in an interview for the daily Dnevnik. However, he noted economic cooling did bring some challenges, as the banks have not yet managed to restore corporate lending and have practically the same business models. The question is also whether they are ready for changes brought about by new technologies. Vasle also believes there are still relatively many banks in Slovenia, so he sees consolidation as "an unavoidable and useful process".
Bavčar fears for sovereignty, security as he remembers pre-independence event
KOČEVSKA REKA - A commemoration was held to remember 17 December 1990 when a Slovenian armed unit was lined up just a week before the country held its independence referendum. Igor Bavčar, then interior minister, said that challenges faced by the EU and NATO made Slovenian sovereignty and security topical again as they undermined the foundations of the EU as we had known it for 30 years. "The history of the last century is making a comeback knocking on the door big time," said Bavčar, a former business executive who is currently serving time for money laundering in deals with Istrabenz shares. Several independence-era figures gathered in Kočevska Reka, including then PM Lojze Peterle, then Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, and incumbent President Borut Pahor. The Territorial Defence unit lined up 29 years ago is now seen as a precursor of the Slovenian army.
Slovenia spends EUR 2.4 billion on education
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia spent some EUR 2.411 billion on educational institutions last year, an almost 4% increase compared to 2017, or 5.3% of its GDP, the latest Statistics Office data shows. Educational institutions spent some EUR 2.232 billion or 92% of all expenditure on formal education, most of it on wages and investments. Out of total education expenditure, some 86.3% was public and 12.5% private. Meanwhile, the share of resources from international sources was 1.3%.
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