Slovenia has been an associate member of the ESA since 2016 and, based on this membership, eleven Slovenian companies have signed partnership contracts with the ESA thus far. Together, they are worth seven million euros, said Mr Počivalšek, according to whom the number will soon increase even further.

"Currently, 40 Slovenian companies are working in high technology and a few institutions are very interested in Slovenia's ESA membership," he said.

For those companies, cooperation with the ESA means an important international reference offering them the opportunity to obtain new international business and long-term partnerships. The agreement signed today will even further extend the range of activities accessible to Slovenian companies, he said.

Mr Počivalšek also noted that the field of space is much broader than we might imagine. A number of high-tech and innovative companies working in the fields of new materials, logistics, healthcare, artificial intelligence, telecommunications and other enabling technologies can cooperate with the ESA, he said.

He recalled the recent launch of the first two Slovenian satellites, adding that this has placed Slovenian industry in space and "now it is on all of us to reach for the stars and, together with the ESA, make the most of the new opportunities offered by this agreement for the good of the Slovenian economy."