On 14 February 2014, the Slovenian-Chinese Business and EconomicForum, jointly organized by the Municipality of Nova Gorica and theConfucius Institute at the University of Ljubljana (CI Ljubljana)operating in partnership with the Shanghai University ofInternational Business and Economics (SUIBE), was held at the CityHall of Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Mr. Matej Arcon, Mayor of NovaGorica, presided over the forum. Over thirty people attended theforum, including Mr. Zhang Xianyi, Chinese Ambassador to Slovenia,Ms. Zhao Xiufeng, Commercial Attaché of the Chinese Embassy, JacopoSertoli, CEO of Select Holding Group, Mr. Andrej Raspordeng,President of the Central and Eastern European Tourism ManagementAssociation, and other Slovenian entrepreneurs. Ms. Danijela Voljč,Director of CI Ljubljana on the Slovenian side, and Mr. Chen Jian,Director of CI Ljubljana on the Chinese side, were also present atthe forum.
In his speech, Mr. Matej Arcon provided a detailed account of thelatest developments of tourism, business, and technologicalinnovation in Slovenia. The Slovenian business leaders at the forumoutlined the goals of the development for their businesses,expressing interest in forging closer cooperation with theirChinese counterparts. Ambassador Zhang took questions from theSlovenian business leaders regarding tourism, Chinese investmentpolicy, and business cooperation between the two countries.
After the forum ended, the delegates attended the Chinese LanternFestival Party hosted by CI Ljubljana.