Trade between Slovenia and France was on a decline between 2011 and 2016, dropping by almost a quarter, Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) president Boštjan Gorjup noted as he addressed the conference in Ljubljana. 

In 2016, the trend reversed, as trade was up by 5% to EUR 2.1bn, and in the first ten months of last year it reached almost EUR 2.3bn.

According to Gorjup, France is among the top five trade partners of Slovenia, with the automotive industry being in focus. France's foreign direct investments in Slovenia stood at EUR 633m last year, while Slovenia had only EUR 13.5m in France.

French National Assembly member Frederic Petit noted that Slovenia was unfortunately still an unknown for many French companies, mostly because of its small size. French companies are not familiar with the market, but the country's eurozone membership and the geographical position allow for stronger ties, he added.

Petit, who represents the constituency of Central Europe and the Balkans, believes that there are many opportunities for cooperation in e-mobility. "We see a great opportunity there for French and Slovenian automotive clusters, which could enter third markets together."

Aleš Cantarutti, a state secretary at the Economic Development and Technology Ministry, said that French owners of companies based in Slovenia were excellent, employing people, taking care of their employees, and managing companies excellently. "We want more such investments."

The conference featured a round table debate, which agreed that Slovenian and French companies can achieve excellent results with cooperation. The participants included Tomaž Žnidarič of the Lactalis-owned dairy Ljubljanske mlekarne and Kaan Ozkan of the Renault-owned car assembly plant Revoz.

Žnidarič said that the Ljubljana-based company was one of the best investments of Lactalis. Ljubljanske mlekarne offered employees, know-how, equipment and material, while Lactalis provided its tradition and experience, he added.

Ozkan meanwhile pointed to certain weaknesses of Slovenia. It is a small market and the population is ageing, and human resources have also become an issue. Slovenia has well educated people, but it needs more in order to continue growing, he added.

Cooperation between Slovenia and France is also expected to be boosted by the Slovenian-French business club, which was established in September 2017, and which is presided by the head of Renault Nissan Adriatic Jean-Pierre Mesić.

"We are not a small player. We are important both for the Slovenian and French economy," said the head of the club associating 33 companies which generate around EUR 3bn in revenue in Slovenia annually, and employ a total of 12,000 people.