PRESIDENT DE MARCO LEAVES ON A STATE VISIT TO BULGARIA, THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA AND THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

The President of Malta, Prof. Guido de Marco, accompanied by the Minister of Education Dr. Louis Galea, left Malta today on a State Visit to Bulgaria, the Republic of Slovenia and to the Slovak Republic. President de Marco and his entourage left Malta for the Bulgarian capital of Sofia early this morning.

While in Bulgaria, President de Marco will have talks with the Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov. The Bulgarian President will later host a state dinner in honour of President de Marco. President de Marco will receive the Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov and the Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mikhailova. Later President de Marco will meet the Speaker of the National Assembly Yordan Sokolov. President de Marco will deliver a lecture entitled "The United Nations: What Future?", at Sofia University. President de Marco will host a reception in honour of President Stoyanov.

During the President's State Visit to Bulgaria, the Minister for Education will sign a bilateral agreement on co-operation in the field of health care and medical science, on behalf of the Maltese Government.

On Thursday, the President of Malta will arrive in Ljubljana, the capital of the Republic of Slovenia. Here President de Marco will hold talks with President Milan Kucan and Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek. The President of Malta will receive the President of the State Council Tone Hrovat and the Foreign Minister Prof. Dimitri Rupel. President de Marco will also meet the Speaker of the National Assembly Borut Pahor. President de Marco will also be the guest of honour at a State Dinner given in his honour by President Kucan. He will also attend a concert by the Slovenian Symphony Orchestra.

While in Slovenia, Minister Galea will sign an agreement on the mutual promotion and protection of investments.

On Saturday, President de Marco will leave from Ljubljana for the Slovak Republic where he will hold talks with President Rudolph Schuster who will later host the President of Malta to an official luncheon. President de Marco will meet the Prime Minister Mkulas Dzurinda, the Speaker of the National Council Jozef Migas and the Lord Mayor of Bratislava Jozef Moravcik. Minister Louis Galea will be holding talks with his Slovak counterpart. President de Marco will hold a reception in honour of President Schuster.

The President and his entourage will arrive in Malta on Sunday, 18^th March, 2001 in the afternoon.