Pahor and Nishani, who is on a two-day official visit, emphasised that Slovenia and Albania have excellent bilateral ties, which is unfortunately not reflected in trade between the two countries.

According to Pahor, the potential for bilateral business cooperation is far greater than the actual results.

Speaking to the press, the Slovenian president said that economic cooperation was the reason for Nishani's visit to Ljubljana, as economic ties usually improve with the frequency of political meetings.

Trade between Slovenia and Albania is relatively modest and Slovenian exports - mostly pharmaceuticals and food products - have dominated trade, standing at EUR 35m last year compared to EUR 650,000 in imports from Albania.

The country is 61st on the ranking of Slovenia's biggest trade partners.

The Albanian president meanwhile invited Slovenian companies to invest in Albania in various fields, including energy, culture, tourism, infrastructure and agriculture.

Pahor and Nishani also discussed the situation in the Western Balkans, the process of Albania's EU accession, the Brdo regional cooperation process and topical international issues, such as efforts against the Islamic State.

Nishani also met Prime Minister Miro Cerar and parliamentary Speaker Milan Brglez today. The speaker underlined that both countries needed to do more to promote themselves internationally.

Nishani expressed gratitude for Slovenia's support for Albania's process of democratisation and its efforts to join the EU, while Brglez hailed Albania's success in obtaining EU candidate status in June 2014, the Parliament House said in a press release.

In the afternoon, Pahor and his Albanian counterpart attended a business conference at the headquarters of the Slovenian Chamber Commerce and Industry (GZS) in Ljubljana.

Accompanying Nishani to Ljubljana are representatives of eight companies from the fields of construction, hospitality, tourism, coffee and beverages supply and chrome trade.

Pahor said in his address to the conference that Albania's human and natural resources were often overlooked, which was unfair as Albania was among the transition countries that made the biggest progress.

Nishani moreover said that Albania was developing fast and that the country managed to avoid a recession despite crisis in Italy and Greece, its two biggest trade partners.

On Wednesday, Nishani will also speak at the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences about Albania in the context of regional cooperation and European integration.