You have the giant multinational Gorenje and it is looking to establish a presence in India…

As you know Gorenje is the largest Slovenian manufacturer of white goods, like larger home appliances. Starting in 1950 in a small village, the group has expanded into a multinational corporation and has worldwide presence. Some days ago the India representative of the firm informed us that Gorenje has supplied equipment to the first Trump Tower in Pune. Now it is ready to install equipment in the second Trump Tower in Mumbai. They are competing in the high-end bracket, and not competing with lower-priced brands from China and Korea. That is the way Slovenia aims to do its business worldwide.

                                                                     India Empire team at the Embassy of Slovenia

Apart from India, which are the other countries that you are accredited to?

I am also accredited to Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. But I must say that it is not enough to go to these countries just twice a year. I see that 90 foreign missions in India cover Nepal from New Delhi, which is not the ideal way of going about things. I can sense how it is to be in their skin. We also don’t like it when other countries cover us from Vienna, Austria. It’s not a real solution to developing strong bilateral relations, but it’s better than nothing.

A MoU was signed between the Indian Ministry of Ayush and the University of Primorska in July 2016. Have we moved forward on that?

I will be better able to elaborate only after some time. While within Ayush, Ayurveda remains the most important area of engagement. We have six Ayurveda centres in Slovenia. It is an area of great interest, and quite a few experts in the field from India are involved. Then, of course, within Ayush you have Yoga. Here again we celebrate International Yoga Day. Things that are introduced to Slovenia take time to develop, as the initial tendency among our people is to express scepticism. It was the same with acupuncture. People generally felt it was nothing more than Chinese black magic. Even if they avail of it, they do so secretively. It takes time to make inroads, break away from stereotypes. Acceptance of a new way is always a slow process.