Slovenian and UAE officials signed an agreement to establish a Slovenian-Arab business council during the first official trip by a Slovenian president to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 3 and 4 November.

President Nataša Pirc Musar met her counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on 3 November, with the president's office quoting her as saying that they had had an in-depth discussion about the workings of the UN and the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East.

"In many aspects, we have very similar views of the world," she said. Zayed Al Nahyan supports women politicians at the UN and the UAE has signed Slovenia's initiative for better representation of women in the UN, Pirc Musar noted.

According to her office, the presidents share the view that political cooperation between Slovenia and the UAE is excellent, with their talks focusing on business cooperation.

The UAE is the second most important economic partner for Slovenia in the Gulf, with both countries wanting to strengthen their business ties further.

Pirc Musar was accompanied on the visit by a business delegation comprised of representatives of five companies and an institute. The visit focused on highlighting the top technological achievements of Slovenian companies.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia and the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry signed a memorandum to set up a business council, which Pirc Musar said was the most important outcome of her trip.

While in Abu Dhabi, Pirc Musar visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and laid a wreath at the Wahat Al Karama memorial.

Pirc Musar also visited the air dome at the Sports Hudayriat Island complex built by the Slovenian company Duol in Abu Dhabi and the autonomous driving simulator powered by the technology developed by the Slovenian company AV Living Lab.

The president met Speaker of the Federal National Council Saqr Ghobash on 4 November before wrapping up the visit with a talk about the challenges faced by small countries in the international community at the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy.

The visit follows after Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon visited the UAE in May on a tour of the Middle East. She met with her Emirati counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan for talks on how to facilitate humanitarian aid for Gaza.

On the occasion, Fajon also called for greater economic cooperation between Slovenia and the UAE and for an embassy of the UAE to be opened in Slovenia. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed then visited Ljubljana in June.

Last year, Slovenia exported €133 million worth of goods to the UAE as imports totalled €35 million. With the total volume of bilateral goods trade reaching €168 million, the UAE ranked 43rd among Slovenia's trading partners.