On April 12th ICPE organised a Tour de Table meeting with the representatives of ICPE member states. The meeting offered an opportunity to member states to address their position on the current and future functioning of the Center. The meeting was attended by Dr József Györkös, State Secretary at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology of Slovenia, His Excellency Dr Villur Sundararajan Seshadri, Ambassador of India, His Excellency Mr Sandër Kovaçi, Ambassador of Albania and Mrs Amra Kosović, Economic Counselor at the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The meeting was opened by Dr Štefan Bogdan Šalej, Director General of ICPE, who presented the current situation of the ICPE, giving special emphasis on the development of the legal basis of treatment of international organizations in Slovenia, including ICPE. He was followed by the Honorary President of the ICPE Dr Anton Vratuša, who presented the ICAM conference. Gašper Koprivšek, ICPE Project Manager, informed that ICPE hosted 60 high-ranked Indian officials of the ISTM end of March for an overseas training programme. The programme was carried out successfully and there is a joint interest of long term and continuous cooperation. Aleš Dakić, ICPE Project Manager, presented the current International MBA programme and introduced the new Green Industry MBA, conducted jointly with the Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School.

Dr József Györkös, State Secretary at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, agreed that the legal basis of the ICPE needs to be clarified as soon as possible. He also expressed his support for the Green Industry MBA programme and the renovation of the ICPE facilities.

H.E. Dr Villur Sundararajan Seshadri, Ambassador of India, expressed his content with the Tour de Table meeting and emphasized India’s strong commitment to ICPE. He agreed on the importance of the legal structure and clear footing of ICPE and congratulated for the vast improvements of ICPE facilities, especially Prešeren’s Hall. Special consideration needs to be given to the refocus of ICPE, which must nevertheless keep constantly in mind the significance of the role of the public sector.

H. E. Mr Sandër Kovaçi, Ambassador of Albania, expressed that they were interested in further cooperation with the ICPE. They could also play a role regarding ICAM conference. Some programmes for the Adriatic Coast have already been implemented.

The meeting was concluded with a call for further support from the Government of Slovenia and stronger cooperation with the remaining member states.