Zoltán Kovács had talks with Slovenian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food in Ljubljana. The purpose of the talks was to organise a meeting in person amidst the background consultations, the government commissioner said.

Agencies and organisations concerned with forestry, hunting, the food industry and the food economy in the neighbouring country will attend the exhibition, while the opening will also be attended by the Slovenian minister, he stressed.

He added that in the second half of the year, from July, Slovenia will take over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the issue of sustainability is high among their planned priorities. Biodiversity, sustainable environmental management, forestry and game management are important and central issues in Slovenia as well, he said.

Mr Kovács recalled that up to the end of last year, some fifty countries confirmed their attendance of the exhibition. At the same time, he said, evidently due to the coronavirus pandemic, one can still observe a degree of caution.

According to the government’s plans, in the wake of the recently launched vaccination programmes and with a series of precautionary measures in the European Union, including in Hungary, by the summer the conditions for the organisation of the world exhibition will be in place, he underlined.

He took the view that, from the respect of the recovery of tourism and the economy, it is necessary to pay special attention to the events and exhibitions organisation industry as well.

Tourism and the attached services industry would hardly be able to survive another year similar to last year, he said. These industries have sustained enormous losses, and it is in everyone’s best interests, including industry actors, the Hungarian government and other governments, that these sectors should be able to resume normal operations, he pointed out.