Doha - President Borut Pahor started a two-day official visit to Qatar on Wednesday by meeting Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. They assessed that there are many opportunities to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially in energy, sustainable development, tourism and investments.

Pahor and Al Thani confirmed the friendly bilateral relations and agreed that political cooperation is very good. Pahor noted that the countries celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, the president's office said.

The Emir of Qatar noted many similarities in views, as they are aware as leaders of small and young countries of how important it is to find peaceful solutions to all conflicts and how irreplaceable it is to have friends in today's world.

Pahor invited Al Thani to pay an official visit to Slovenia, and Al Tani accepted the invitation, announcing that he would visit the country in May. A business delegation will visit Slovenia beforehand to examine potential for specific forms of cooperation.

As opportunities to further strengthen bilateral cooperation were discussed, the Slovenian president said that his country was a reliable and attractive investment destination.

Pahor and Al Thani paid special attention to topical international issues, with an emphasis on the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East and the Western Balkans.

The Emir of Qatar presented to Pahor the efforts invested by his country for peace in the Middle East. He said that an advantage of small countries like Qatar and Slovenia is that they could serve as intermediaries in solving global problems.

Pahor also visited the Consultative Assembly of Qatar, where he was received by its chair Hassan bin Abdullah al-Ghanem and a delegation.

On Thursday, the Slovenian president will meet representatives of the Qatar Fund for Development and address the opening of an international forum hosted by the Qatar Leadership Center, a management development institute.

Pahor is accompanied by Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec and Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak. The former announced last week that he was heading to Qatar to discuss possible alternative routes for energy supply to Slovenia.