"The visit to Toronto is no accident, as it is one of the most competitive cities in the world. At the same time it is the biggest start-up ecosystem in Canada, ranked among the top 20 liveliest start-up environments in the world," Počivalšek said.

In addition, the biggest share of Slovenians living in Canada is based in Toronto, he was also quoted as saying by the Economy Ministry in a press release on Thursday.

In Canada until Friday, Počivalšek will promote the measures for potential investors in Slovenia and discuss opportunities the CETA free trade agreement between Canada and the EU provides to both Slovenian and Canadian companies.

Slovenian-Canadian trade amounted to EUR 211m last year, while a 62% growth has been recorded over the past year.

Last year, almost 500 Slovenian companies imported from Canada and 300 companies exported to the country, with pharmaceuticals accounting for a third of the exports.

In addition, the arrivals of Canadian tourists grew by 11% last year, with over 17,000 Canadians spending a total of 37,000 nights in the country, the ministry said.

On the sidelines of the visit to Toronto, Počivalšek is to meet the leadership of car parts supplier Magna International, which is building a paint shop near Maribor, to discuss the future of the project.

"We'll surely address the topic of developing a supply chain and we're very interested in Magna's vision for electrification of vehicles. With its long tradition and good knowledge of the automotive industry, Slovenia is an important connection in the development of components for electric cars at the global level," the minister also stressed.