Addressing reporters after talks in Ljubljana, Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said Austria would like for Slovenia to recognise the German-speaking community and put down its rights in the Constitution, to have a status similar to the Italian and Hungarian minorities.

The Austrian minister acknowledged the group do not live in a single area like the Italian and Hungarian minorities, but "this is a minority that I hope represents a cultural enrichment of Slovenia". He expressed appreciation of Slovenia for providing appropriate funds, in particular for cultural projects.

But Minister Karl Erjavec noted that recognising the German-speaking group would entail changing the Slovenian Constitution, something that he did not see much chance for at the moment, considering that it requires a two-thirds majority in parliament. "The Constitution is only rarely changed in Slovenia."

"I think it right for Slovenia to guarantee the German-speaking group all those rights it enjoys under Slovenian laws, and the government does that," Erjavec says, noting that recognising the community was a matter of broader debate and one that took time.

"This is not the moment in which such a debate could be successful. One problem is the minority's definition," the Slovenian foreign minister said.

Some estimates put the number of the German speaking community in Slovenia to around 2,000. However, the community does not live in a single compact area. The Austrian parliament's human rights commission passed a resolution on Wednesday urging the Austrian government to aspire for the community's recognition.

Touching on the Slovenian minority in Austria, Erjavec said the mutual agreement was that the minority's position was good and improving still. The minister expressed the expectation that the positive trend would also continue in the future.

Apart from minority issues and bilateral economic ties the two ministers also discussed denationalisation in Slovenia with the Austrian minister handing a list of pending cases to his Slovenian counterpart and calling for them to be solved as soon as possible.

Erjavec said one of his priorities was good relations with the neighbours and the meeting today confirmed just that. Austria is seen as an important partner not only politically but also economically. The countries also share many views and ideas within the EU, according to Erjavec.

The Slovenian minister also called for cooperation at the regional level, especially with regard to the Western Balkans, Central Europe, the future Alpine macro-region.

The pair also discussed the ongoing privatisation in Slovenia, which Kurz said was of interest to Austrian companies. The basis for Austria's further investment in Slovenia is a business-friendly atmosphere.

Austria is one of Slovenia's most important trade partners and the leading investor, accounting for 48% of all foreign investment here. Austrian investments have amounted to EUR 5.7bn, while bilateral merchandise trade totalled EUR 4.3bn last year.

The ministers were later due to exchange views on topical international developments, in particular in Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the Arab Spring and Syria.

Kurz, who visited Ukraine earlier this week in his capacity as president of the Committee of Minister of the Council of Europe, noted that the situation in the country was tense. He also said that Bosnia should not be let fall off the EU's "radars", something that Slovenia and Austria should aspire for.

Kurz was also received by Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek and President Borut Pahor, and is due to meet representatives of the German speaking community in Slovenia before heading back to Vienna.