Makovec Brenčič met with officials at CERN headquarters and was given a tour of the Large Hadron Collider by her host CERN Director General Rolf-Dieter Heuer, the Education Ministry said in a statement.

Slovenia is looking to kick-start membership talks after years of standstill.

The ministry said the visit was dedicated to reviewing short- and long-term benefits of membership for science, business and education in the country.

An analysis of benefits will form the basis for the reopening of membership negotiations.

CERN is the world's leading particle physics laboratory and one of the most elite scientific institutions, which frequently produces new discoveries and has helped spur the development of a range of new technologies.

Slovenia opened membership negotiations in 2009, but talks ground to a halt soon after, with the membership fee mentioned as the main reason.

The ministry said membership of CERN would create a multitude of opportunities for Slovenian high technology companies.