12 October 2010 - Philippine Ambassador to Austria and non-resident Ambassador to Slovenia Lourdes O. Yparraguirre presented her credentials before Slovenian President Danilo Türk on September 30.

During discussions following the presentation of her credentials, President Türk revealed that he had privately visited the Philippines several times in the past and had also met with then President Corazon C. Aquino in 1986 in Beijing.

President Türk expressed strong interest in developing Philippine-Slovenian bilateral relations, particularly in the areas of trade and in maritime transport cooperation as well as in increasing bilateral consultations between the two countries, and pushed for more multilateral consultations through the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM).

Ambassador Yparraguirre expressed the Philippines' appreciation for the very active cooperation between the Philippines and Slovenia in the area of inter-faith dialogue, noting that the country sent a Special Envoy during the Special Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace and Development (SNAMMM) held in Manila on March 16-18.

She also met with other Slovenian officials to discuss increasing bilateral cooperation, including Head of Diplomatic Protocol Ambassador Vojislav Šuc, Slovenian Foreign Ministry Directorate for Economic Diplomacy and Development Cooperation director-general Ambassador Vladimir Gasparič; and Slovenian Foreign Ministry-Department for Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania head Minister Plenipotentiary Tomaž Mencin.

Ambassador Yparraguirre was honored upon her arrival and departure by the Slovenian Presidential Honor Guard. END