LJUBLJANA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar Monday spoke highly of the cooperation between China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC), also known as the 16+1 cooperation, according to the Slovenian Press Agency.
As part of the 16+1 cooperation, Slovenia signed a cooperation agreement with China within the Belt and Road Initiative at the sixth meeting of heads of government of China and the CEEC in the Hungarian capital city of Budapest.
"I am happy," said Cerar when talking about the agreement with China. "It is very important to us."
Cerar said Slovenia's trade with China has witnessed an increase of 35 percent over the past three years, stressing that the Belt and Road Initiative contributed to the growth.
The initiative, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, comprises the overland Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and aims to revive and expand cooperation and exchange on and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes, which nurtured trade between Asia and the outside world in the past.
Meanwhile, Cerar said Slovenia has attached great importance to technological cooperation in technology and is ready to work with Chinese companies in this field.
The prime minister also said more areas of economic cooperation lie ahead, such as tourism, adding that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Slovenia grew by nearly 20 percent during the last year.
"Therefore we are working on establishing better transport connections, including an airline route between Slovenia and China," said Cerar.
Slovenian Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Pocivalsek said the cooperation agreement within the Belt and Road Initiative was a step to further improve cooperation with China.
"This initiative has already been signed by over 60 countries, and China has become our biggest trade partner outside of the European Union and the Western Balkans," said Pocivalsek.
