Fisher, accompanied by his spouse Margit, will be received with military honours in Ljubljana, soon after which he and Pahor will head for Kočevje (S) to meet representatives of the German-speaking community living there.

Fisher will be the first Austrian president to visit the community, whose roots go back some 600 years but which now only consists of around 100 members.

The community is supported by Austria and is striving to be recognised as a minority. This would for instance entitle it to funding for its associations, the Austrian Press Agency APA reported

An important topic for Slovenia on the other hand is the protection of the Slovenian minority in Austria's Carinthia province and is also expected to be discussed in talks between the two presidents on Monday. Pahor received last week representatives of Slovenian minority organisations in Austria.

Following a press statement by the two presidents, Fisher is scheduled to meet Parliament Speaker Janko Veber and visit the Ljubljana Saint Nicholas' cathedral, after which Pahor will host the Austrian presidential couple for lunch at Bled.

After lunch, Fisher will hold a working meeting with PM Alenka Bratušek and attend the Bled Strategic Forum, where he will participate in the main panel of leaders entitled "Changes in Europe and the World".

Political ties between the two countries have been strong, as has economic cooperation, with EUR 5.6bn or a 48% share in foreign direct investment in 2012 making Austria by far the most important foreign investor in Slovenia.

Slovenian exports to Austria amounted to EUR 1.73bn last year, while imports stood at EUR 2.59bn. The figures for the first five months of 2013 were EUR 742m and EUR 1.06bn, respectively.