Janša, who is accompanied by a business delegation, will also hold talks with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday.

The visit is aimed at boosting bilateral ties and economic cooperation. The countries are expected to seal the final deal for the investment into the construction of the Slovenian part of the South Stream and sign some other bilateral agreements.

The head of the South Stream pipeline project and a vice-chairman of the joint venture responsible for the project in Slovenia, Leonid Chugunov, has recently told reporters that the construction of the 2446-kilometre South Stream pipeline will be launched in December under the sea and on land.

However, the construction of the 266 km section in Slovenia is not expected to start until 2014. The investment in Slovenia is estimated at EUR 1bn.

Russia is an important trade partner for Slovenia. Trade topped EUR 1.1bn last year with EUR 747m represented by Slovenia's exports. Between January and May this year, trade amounted to EUR 533m. Slovenia mainly imports energy products from Russia, while the bulk of exports are pharmaceuticals.