Ljubljana - Slovenian Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Patrushev discussed possible forms of cooperation in the field of agriculture and rural development at Thursday's bilateral meeting and signed an action plan to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

The bilateral meeting between the two ministers was organised as the meeting of the co-chairs of the Slovenian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, said the Agriculture Ministry.

The Cooperation Plan and the Bilateral Action Plan signed by ministers Podgoršek and Patrushev cover the period 2022-2023.

The documents highlight cooperation in the areas of beekeeping, animal health, organic farming, family farming, young rural entrepreneurs and digitalisation in agriculture.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Podgoršek said that "Slovenia and Russia cooperate well in the field of agriculture, and today's meeting is an excellent opportunity to continue the bilateral dialogue on future cooperation in agriculture and rural development".

Podgoršek also stressed the importance of cooperation in the field of veterinary and phytosanitary control and called for more contact at the technical level between experts on both sides, the ministry added.