Minister Samaraweera has been invited by Karl Erjavec, the Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Bled Strategic Forum 2016: “Safeguarding the Future”. At the Bled Forum, the Foreign Minister will speak as a panelist on “Human Security: You and I Matter” alongside distinguished panelists from Norway, Japan, Austria, Bangladesh, University of Toronto and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Bilateral events on the agenda include meetings with the Slovenian Prime Minister and President, including his Slovenian counterpart and Minister of Economic Development and Technology. The Minister is also expected to address the International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies in Ljubljana during the bilateral segment.  At the Bled Forum, Minister Samaraweera will also meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary and other participating dignitaries from the region.

The visit is expected to renew the longstanding bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Slovenia, and open new avenues of cooperation in the economic, and science and technology sectors.