Slovenia and the Philippines deepen co-operation in energy resilience, innovation and security

The event was organised in partnership with the International Centre for Promotion of Enterprises (ICPE), the Slovenian Innovation Green Tech Cluster (TECES) and the Slovenian Energy and Environment Partnership in Defence (SiENE),  as well as the Ministries of Foreign and European Affairs and of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Slovenia.

The programme featured a high-level conference, business-to-business meetings and engagements with various national government agencies.

The first day opened with a plenary conference addressing the transfer of science and innovation to business, energy efficiency in the defence sector, and the use of digitalisation and artificial intelligence in crisis management. The event brought together government leaders, industry stakeholders and research institutions from both countries.

In her opening remarks, Dr Smiljana Knez, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the Philippines, underlined the importance of investing in innovation in order to enhance energy efficiency. She highlighted Slovenia’s readiness to strengthen ties with the Philippines through technology transfer, academic collaboration and public–private partnerships aimed at improving energy efficiency.

In his keynote address, Department of Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum highlighted the Philippines’ efforts to sustain investment in renewable energy, efficiency technologies and data-driven governance with particular emphasis on AI in crisis management.

Addressing the conference via a video message, Slovenian minister for Higher Education, Science and Innovation Dr Igor Papič emphasized the importance of a knowledge-based society, highlighting that Slovenia has significantly increased the funding for science and research and that the National Scientific Research Agency's competencies have been expanded to cover innovation, which will facilitate the transfer of scientific findings and innovations into practice. Slovenia is a country that does not have many natural resources, but it does have knowledge, which is why it invests heavily in knowledge and research conditions, he said. He particularly stressed the importance of the conference's topic – energy efficiency – which also contributes to addressing climate change.

Meanwhile, Special Envoy of President Marcos for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga underscored the importance of resilience through coordinated action across food, energy and water security systems to address the converging risks posed by climate change, geopolitical challenges and natural disasters.

The second day featured a business-to-business conference that brought together Slovenian and Philippine companies, research institutions and government representatives from sectors including renewable energy, power systems, infrastructure, chemicals and digital services.

It focused on practical collaboration in energy resilience, critical infrastructure, environmental technologies, digital security, autonomous systems and industrial innovation.

Participating Slovenian companies included ARGOxr, PeK Automotive, Robotina, Smartis and Waboost, alongside research institutions such as Elektroinstitut Milan Vidmar (EIMV) and the National Institute of Chemistry.

Stratbase Group Chief Operating Officer Rupert Paul Manhit, stressed the importance of translating dialogue into action, noting that sustained partnerships with countries such as Slovenia foster trust, reliability and long-term cooperation beyond transactional engagement.

Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Slovenia in Manila Dragan Barbutovski highlighted Slovenia’s position as a strategic gateway to Europe and as one of the continent’s most export-oriented economies.

The keynote message from the Department of Trade and Industry, delivered by Board of Investments Executive Director Atty Bobby Fondevilla reaffirmed that energy resilience is both a national security priority and a driver of economic stability, and that the Philippines stands ready to support partnerships that generate long-term value.

On the sidelines of the event, the Slovenian delegation also conducted a series of high-level meetings with key Philippine government agencies, including the Department of National Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Trade and Industry.

These engagements aimed to explore concrete areas of cooperation, strengthen institutional linkages, and identify opportunities for joint initiatives in energy security, sustainability, innovation and national resilience.