News

Slovenia recorded its third consecutive year of growth in patent applications at the European Patent Office (EPO) in 2024. With growth surpassing the EU average, a strong presence of women inventors and high adoption of the Unitary Patent, Slovenia continues to demonstrate a dynamic innovation environment and the significance of its expertise within the EU patent landscape.

The delegation of eight Slovenian space technology companies, which visited Algeria from 11 to 14 February to learn about the Algerian space sector and explore opportunities for bilateral cooperation, has returned to Slovenia. The visit represents an important step in strengthening economic cooperation in the field of space technologies and opens up new opportunities for Slovenian technological solutions on the North African market.

The digital transformation of the economy and the public sector is essential for the country’s long-term development and competitiveness. The Ministry of the Economy provided support for the 23 digital transformation projects of 108 Slovenian businesses as part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). The European Union has co-financed the investment with EUR 43.8 million.

The Minister of economy, tourism and sport, Matjaž Han, is visiting Salzburg today, one of the world’s most renowned tourist destinations. During his visit, he met with representatives from the tourism and business sectors and visited one of the leading companies in the region. The main goal of the visit is to strengthen economic cooperation between Slovenia and Austria and to exchange best practices in tourism and industry.

Slovenian tourism reached some remarkable milestones in 2024, outperforming the European and global averages despite a challenging environment. With a 7.5% increase in international arrivals and excellent results in both established and emerging markets, Slovenia continues to strengthen its position as a leading green hospitality destination. This success fuels optimism as we move into 2025.

The Minister of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, Matjaž Han, attended the Sports and Economic Forum in Zagreb, held on the sidelines of the 2025 World Handball Championship. The primary aim of the event was to foster connections, generate ideas and develop solutions to harness shared potentials in the fields of the economy and sport.

The SIChain EIPS project that is part of the Important Project of Common European Interest – Next-Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI CIS) demonstrates that Slovenians can also play a key role in Europe's digital breakthrough.

Today marks an important milestone with the signing of the founding charter of ZAŠKO – the cross-border sports coordination body. This important step brings us closer to the formal implementation and government approval of this initiative, which aims to strengthen cross-border cooperation through sport.

The two-day international conference "Geographical Indications and Collective Marks: tradition, quality and identity for sustainable competitiveness" opened today at Brdo pri Kranju. The event brings together experts and representatives of institutions from Slovenia and abroad to discuss the importance of these rights for tourism, gastronomy and economic development.

Minister Matjaž Han is visiting Shanghai, China, with a high-powered business delegation. He attended political discussions and participated in business promotion events showcasing Slovenia’s investment environment, economy, tourism and opportunities for foreign investors.

At the initiative of Prime Minister Golob, a meeting was held today with representatives of the Slovenian automotive industry to discuss current trends and challenges facing this key economic sector.

Ljubljana hosts the Days of Automotive Industry Suppliers. Almost 40 members of ACS, the Automotive Cluster of Slovenia, presented themselves to the Chinese automotive industry at the main event. Four representatives of Chinese car manufacturers, Nio, Jiangling Motors, Tam Motors and ATTC, will also visit some Slovenian companies in the coming days.

The Public Agency SPIRIT Slovenia has again launched the Call for proposals for the promotion of large investments to boost productivity and competitiveness in the Republic of Slovenia, which is implemented in the framework of Slovenia’s Recovery and Resilience Plan. This call for proposals, which was recently cancelled due to the European Commission's requirements to update and amend the conditions for applicants, was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No 69/2024 and on the SPIRIT website.

Slovenia House in Paris has officially opened its doors today and will serve as the centre of fan gatherings and Slovenia’s comprehensive presentation featuring numerous events in the coming Olympic days.

Prime Minister Robert Golob, accompanied by Minister of the Economy, Tourism and Sport Matjaž Han, along with representatives of Renault and Revoz, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development and production of Renault Twingo E-Tech electric cars in Novo mesto.

Slovenia's colours will be represented at the Olympic Games in Paris by its largest-ever Olympic delegation, consisting of 197 members, including 90 athletes. In addition to its outstanding sports team, Slovenia will also be making its presences felt at the largest version of the Slovenia House so far.

Today, Minister Han attended the business and investment congress "Invest&Connect Slovenian Business Pitch: Germany Experiences Slovenia" in Munich. He also discussed opportunities for strengthening economic cooperation with Hubert Aiwanger, Deputy Prime Minister of Bavaria and Minister for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy.

The Government adopted the first National Intellectual Property Strategy 2030 and tasked the Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Sport to prepare an action plan to implement the Strategy in cooperation with other authorities. Thus Slovenia further recognises the role of intellectual property in fostering innovation, creativity and knowledge-sharing and the importance of its strategic management.

Prime Minister Robert Golob and European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Josef Aschbacher have signed an agreement that will see Slovenia become a full member of ESA on 1 January 2025, when the current Association Agreement expires.

The 6th Conference on the internationalisation of the Slovenian economy, organised by the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport together with its partners, took place today in Maribor under a new name: the Slovenian Global Forum. Representatives of three ministries, the academia and entrepreneurs discussed the future development of the Slovenian economy in front of a packed auditorium.