Newsletter May 29, 2009 Page 1

Ambassador Kirn Presents a Copy of the

Letter of Credence

Washington, May 26 – Slovenian Ambassador to Washington Roman Kirn presented the copy of the Letter of Credence to Deputy Secretary James Steinberg on Tuesday, May 26th.

The presentation was followed by a short ceremony, where Ambassador Kirn met with several high State Department officials and was also given the special State Department ambassadorial pin.

Ljubljana: Too Cool to Get Hot

The Washington Post, May 24, 2009 – The Washington Post published a feature article on Ljubljana by Scott Vogel on the front page of its Travel section in Sunday’s edition of the newspaper.

Including beautiful pictures and information on how to

plan your trip to this picturesque and welcoming old town, the article explores Slovenia’s history and the friendly nature of its people.

The author intertwines his own experience of the time in Ljubljana with witty descriptions of the capital by a local tourist guide, Jan Orsic, who explains Slovenia as a peace loving country, with a

high GDP and a long history, one can be proud of.__________

Ambassador Kirn

at the State Department

________________________

Read the complete article and view the photo gallery of Ljubljana on the Washington Post’s Web site.

The New York Times Launches Slovenia

Edition

New York, NY, May 22 – In its press release of May 22, The New York Times Company announced the release of The New York Times international weekly in the Slovenian daily Delo. The section, which was first published in 2002, will be in English.

The international weekly retains the layout and typography of The New York Times and includes news coverage, features, commentary, color photos and graphics about the United States, world affairs, business, culture and social trends. It is prepared in New York by a team of editors and designers of The New York Times News Service.

The press release quotes Cristian Edwards, president of the New York Times News Service, saying that (they) “are thrilled to welcome Delo – (their) first alliance in Slovenia – to our growing network of publications carrying The New York Times weekly section. This collaboration allows us to share The New York Times’s journalism with the globally aware, culturally active, business-involved readers of the Delo newspaper.”

Darijan Košir, chief editor of Delo, said: “We are extremely proud and honored to work with The New York Times. The New York Times is a highly reputable newspaper among Slovenians, so this project will represent great value for Delo’s readers. Furthermore, our collaboration will greatly enhance the content of Delo,

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Newsletter May 29, 2009 Page 2

the leading broadsheet newspaper in Slovenia.”

Pullus - New Slovenian Wines in the US

Pullus has a brand name of wines from Ptujska klet, the oldest winery in Slovenia: its cellars in the north eastern part of Slovenia can be traced back to 1239. Just last week, Pullus wines received seven medals - one gold, three silvers, two bronzes - at Decanter World Wine Awards in London. Golden Medal went to Laški Rizling Sladko 2008.

Pullus wines will shortly be available in the United States at the Ben & Jack's Steak House in New York City and from Vinum USA Inc.

Ascent Resources Farms Out Half of Its Holding in

Slovenian Exploration Project to Aspect

Ascent Resources, through its wholly owned subsidiary Nemmoco Slovenia Corporation (NSC), has farmed-out one half of its 80% participation in the Eastern Slovenian Exploration Project to Aspect Energy International (AEI), a subsidiary of Denver-based Aspect Holdings LLC (Aspect).

The Eastern Slovenian Exploration Project is situated on the eastern edge of the Pannonian Basin, covering 864 square kilometers of the 2,473

square kilometer Pomurje Regional Exploration Area, adjacent to the Hungarian and Croatian borders. The exploration license is held by Nafta Geoterm d.o.o., a subsidiary of state-owned energy and petrochemicals conglomerate Nafta Lendava d.o.o., which retains a 20% interest.

Work on the exploration project has already begun with a comprehensive geological and geophysical study in its final stages. A 3D seismic acquisition, as well as appraisal and exploration drilling, is planned for the coming year. Nearly one half (27 out of a total of 65) exploration wells in the region have reported hydrocarbon shows or produced oil or gas.

Expenditure on the exploration project will be equally shared between NSC and AEI; however, AEI will pay the first €1 million and a disproportional payment

mechanism will apply until a cumulative €3 million has been spent. Ascent’s managing director, Jeremy Eng, said: “This is the second exploration partnership that Ascent has undertaken with Aspect, which over the past five years has successfully explored and exploited hydrocarbon reserves in neighboring Hungary. We look forward to continuing their success in Slovenia. Previous exploration work in the area has provided encouraging results and we look forward to the completion and interpretation of the geoscience studies and commencement of further appraisal and exploration drilling.”

Ljubljana Airport Sends Tourist Info via

Bluetooth

The airport of Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana has introduced a new feature for tourists. At the airport’s baggage-claim area, travelers can get much more than just their luggage: they can download tourist information and coupons for their stay in Slovenia.

Slovenian Tourist Board, along with Creativ Interaktiv and the airport, devised the campaign for arriving passengers riding airport’s buses from planes to the terminals, inviting them to turn on Bluetooth connection on their phones.

It’s a great way to use mobile technology and despite insignificant Bluetooth proximity-marketing results, using this technology on the airport makes perfect sense, as users are already accustomed to receiving text messages from local mobile

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Newsletter May 29, 2009 Page 3

operators when they land at a foreign airport.

Concert and Exhibit at the Slovenian Church in

New York

New York, NY, May 25 (STA) – Slovenian community in New York organized a concert and art exhibit on the occasion of the U.S. Independence day, dedicated to a group of Slovenian high school and college graduates.

Lenart Krečič’s jazz group

The concert was performed by a jazz group led by the Slovenian musician Lenart Krečič; the exhibited works were by Matej Branc from Pennsylvania.

Statehood Day Concert in Cleveland

Slovenska Pristava, the Consulate General of the Republic of Slovenia in Cleveland, and the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame invite all to a concert by the Slovenian Railways Orchestra in honor of the Slovenian Statehood Day.

The concert will take place on Sunday, June 21, 2009, at 3:00 p.m. at Slovenska Pristava. Consul General Dr. Zvone Žigon will give a Statehood Day address. U.S. Senator George Voinovich will be an honored guest.

This performance will be the first stop of an extended tour for this young, 45-member orchestra. After Cleveland, the orchestra will perform at various locations in Canada.

Your online connection to everything Slovenian all around the world.

Internships at the Embassy of Slovenia

The Embassy of Slovenia in Washington, DC is looking for candidates to fill internship positions of for fall/winter period of 2009. The internships are available for 3 months, starting on September 1.

Interested candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English, and have an interest in diplomacy and/or international politics. Desired but not required is knowledge of Slovenian language. The internships are unpaid, housing might be available.

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EventsEvents

Please visit the joint Web site of the 27 EU representations in the U.S. for information on current EU events:

http://www.eurunion.org/EUinUS/events

The weekly e-Newsletter is produced by the Embassy of Slovenia in Washington. The archive of the e-Newsletter is available online. To subscribe or unsubscribe to the e-Newsletter please send an e-mail to: vwa@gov.si.

Newsletter May 29, 2009 Page 4

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Photo Gallery:Beautiful Ljubljana in Pictures from the Washington Post article Too Hot to be Cool