Dobrovo - Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek held talks on Friday with his Italian counterpart Stefano Patuanelli. They discussed plans for the joint promotion of Slovenian and Italian wines from the border-spanning region, especially the Rebula white wine, known in Italy as Ribolla.

"We agreed with the Italian counterpart that today's meeting is a strong political signal to cross-border cooperation in the promotion of Rebula," Podgoršek said after the meeting, held in Dobrovo in the Brda wine growing region.

The two countries are also working on a memorandum on the joint promotion of Rebula, which the ministers plan to sign in early March. "I think this is an important step towards further development of the region, both economic and cultural," Podgoršek said.

The ministers also discussed forestry, as both countries have a significant share of protective forests in the area.

They touched on the trilateral cooperation between Slovenia, Italy and Croatia in relation to the joint fishery policy in the Adriatic Sea and cross-border cooperation as part of the project Interreg Italy-Slovenia 2021-2027.

The meeting was held on the margins of the unveiling of a monument marking the 100th birth anniversary of the "father of Rebula" and long-term director general of the wine cellar Goriška Brda, Zvonimir Simčič.