By the invitation of His Majesty King Harald, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor will undertake a state visit to Norway at the beginning of November. This is the first time Slovenia’s president will visit Norway. The trip is a revisit after the King and the Queen’s state visit to Slovenia in 2011.
The programme includes an official welcome ceremony at the Royal Palace on Wednesday, 6 November, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at Akershus Fortress. Then, President Pahor visits the Norwegian parliament. On Wednesday afternoon, the King, Queen and President Pahor will take part in an exhibition on Slovenian contemporary design, before President Pahor meets Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Wednesday ends with a gala dinner at the Royal Palace.
On Thursday, 7 November, the visit will start at Oslo University’s research park, with a programme highlighting artificial intelligence, green change and sustainable solutions. It will show of the Norwegian innovation “Zivid”, the world’s most accurate, real-time 3D camera and Slovenian artificial intelligence and circular economy technology. A cooperation agreement between SINTEF and Slovenian Jožef Štefan Institute will also be signed.
Norwegians and Slovenes share a passion for skiing, especially jumping and skiing, with Vikersund and Planica as the foremost facilities for the sport. Thursday morning will see the visit continue to Holmenkollen with a guided tour through the museum and a Slovenian exhibition on alpine architecture.
Both Norway and Slovenia have a strong tradition of beekeeping and emphasise bees and pollination for food production. On Thursday afternoon, the King and President Pahor will attend a seminar on bees and pollination at BI Norwegian School of Economics, in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Nature Management and the organisation, ByBi. The Slovenian President’s gift to the King and Queen will be on display, a traditional Slovenian decorated bee house with room for several cubes. The programme for the state visit ends when the President of Slovenia invites the King and Queen to a Slovenian-Norwegian jazz concert.
Royal Central will have a broad coverage of the state visit, so stay tuned.
