Ankara - President Borut Pahor will start a two-day state visit to Turkey on Tuesday at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Bilateral relations and the situation in Ukraine will top the agenda. The situation in the Western Balkans and the Middle East will also be discussed.

The visit represents the continuation of political dialogue between the two countries and marks an opportunity to exchange assessments on the war in Ukraine and opinions concerning the development of EU-Turkey relations, the president's office said.

Pahor and Erdogan have maintained regular dialogue, most recently meeting in Antalya in March on the margins of a diplomatic forum. In April they spoke over the phone about the situation in Ukraine.

Pahor will kick off the visit by addressing the participants of an annual get-together of Turkish diplomats. He will speak about global security challenges in the aftermath of Russia's attack on Ukraine, his office said.

A meeting with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu is scheduled for Tuesday and talks with Erdogan, who will receive Pahor with military honours, on Wednesday.

The president will be accompanied by Economy Minister Matjaž Han and, given that Slovenia's ambassador to Turkey was recently recalled due to breaches of the law on foreign affairs, Foreign Ministry State Secretary Marko Štucin.

A business conference will be held in Ankara featuring Slovenian and Turkish companies. An intergovernmental agreement on education, science and sport will be signed on the occasion.

The two countries have strong trade ties and in 2019 trade exceeded EUR 1 billion, a target set by Pahor and Erdogan when they signed in 2011 a declaration on strategic partnership, at the time as prime ministers.

Last year trade hit EUR 1.14 billion, of which Turkey's exports amounted to EUR 790 million, according to data by Spirit Slovenia. In the first four months of this year the trade volume stood at EUR 416 million.

Slovenia sees opportunities for expansion of cooperation in particular in the construction industry, energy, tourism, transport and logistics. ITC, environmental protection, forestry and the food industry are also seen as areas of shared interest.