On Tuesday 13 September, Mayor Zoran Janković officially received Mayor of Trieste Roberto Cosolini and his delegation to Ljubljana City Hall.

Centre-left coalition candidate Robert Cosolini was appointed Mayor of Trieste on 31 May this year. Above all, his programme championed the development of Trieste, the adoption of a new regulatory plan, the commercial development of the port and the development of Trieste’s industrial zone.

At a working meeting with Mayor of Ljubljana Zoran Janković in Ljubljana City Hall’s Green Room, Mayor of Trieste Robert Cosolini stressed that the City of Trieste sought to intensify cultural co-operation between the cities (the exchange of theatre and other performances, concerts etc). He emphasised the importance of transport infrastructure, the possibility of direct rail connections as part of the Adria A project and suggested that it would be worth examining how many people make regular trips between the cities for work or study purposes. The City of Trieste is interested in strengthening co-operation of research institutions and between the Universities of Ljubljana and Trieste.

The importance of greater cultural co-operation between the cities was also stressed by Mayor Zoran Janković, who would like to see continued showcasing of selected Ljubljana cultural productions in Trieste and vice versa. He proposed working together in the field of encouraging filmmaking, as Trieste already has significant experience in this area that it would be beneficial to put in place in Ljubljana too. He invited the cultural institutions of Trieste to perform operettas as part of events in Ljubljana in June 2012 and underlined the importance of working together in transport and tourism.
In addition to the two mayors, the working meeting was attended by Fabio Omero, the City of Trieste’s head of economic development and tourism, Andrea Mariani, the City of Trieste’s head of culture, Miryam Taucer, the head of the Mayor of Trieste’s cabinet, Aleš Čerin, Deputy Mayor of the City of Ljubljana, Roman Jakič, city councillor and President of the City of Ljubljana’s Commission for International Relations, Tanja Dodig Sodnik, head of the Mayor of Ljubljana’s cabinet and Dr Uroš Grilc, head of the City of Ljubljana’s Department of Culture. The City of Trieste delegation was accompanied by the Republic of Slovenia’s General Consul in Trieste Vlasta Valenčič Pelikan.

After the Mayor of Trieste Roberto Cosolini had signed the City of Ljubljana’s Golden Book, both mayors and their delegations took a walk around the old city centre.