22 October 2015 - Philippine Ambassador Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson presented her Letters of Credence to President Borut Pahor of the Republic of Slovenia on October 15 during ceremonies at the Great Hall of the Presidential Palace.

In the brief talks that followed, President Pahor  stressed the importance of high-level exchanges particularly with his counterpart in order to intensify political and economic relations between the two countries. He added that exchanges can be done at the sidelines of a multilateral conference such as the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris or in the next Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). 

Ambassador Collinson welcomed President Pahor’s interest in deepening bilateral relations and agreed that meetings between the Philippines’ Head of State and President Pahor could take place on the sidelines of international meetings and conferences. She noted that the next ASEM Summit will be in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in 2016.

Ambassador Collinson further noted that as bilateral relations in the political field were excellent, she informed President Pahor of her plans to focus on economic diplomacy during her tenure as non-resident Ambassador to Slovenia.

President Pahor agreed with Ambassador Collinson that the promotion of economic and cultural relations was important and wished Ambassador Collinson success in her tour of duty in his country.

A reception that followed the presentation of credentials provided the opportunity for owners and Chief Executive Officers of Slovenian companies to meet the new Ambassador and establish initial contacts.

Ambassador Collinson invited the Slovenian entrepreneurs to the Philippines to familiarize themselves with the country and meet potential business partners. The Ambassador and Philippine Honorary Consul Debelak discussed the possibility of a Slovenian business mission to the Philippines during the first quarter of 2016.

During her brief stay in Ljubljana, Ambassador Collinson also paid courtesy calls on State Secretary Dragoljuba Benčina of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Secretary Aleš Cantarutti of the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, State Secretary Andrej Špenga of the Ministry of the Interior, and National Assembly President Milan Brglez. END