Kildare welcomes Slovenian Ambassador to Naas

KILDARE County Council had the honour of welcoming the Ambassador of Slovenia to Ireland, His Excellency Matej Marn and his wife, Mrs Ajda Marn, to Áras Chill Dara for discussions on enterprise, innovation and international cooperation.

The Ambassador was accompanied by Naas solicitor Liam Moloney, Honorary Consul for Slovenia in the Republic of Ireland, whose office at 4a, North Main Street, is also the Slovenian Consulate in Ireland.

The visit commenced with a meeting attended by the Cathaoirleach of the County of Kildare, Councillor Carmel Kelly, Sonya Kavanagh, Chief Executive, Kildare County Council and Jacqui McNabb, Head of Enterprise, Economic Development and Tourism, Kildare County Council.

Following the meeting in Áras Chill Dara, Ambassador Marn visited MERITS where he met with a selection of Kildare-based businesses including Tim Farmer, founder of iSquared, Ryan McGloin, founder of Blocshop, and Magda Seymour, founder of Pure Oskar.

The delegation also met with Chris Fogarty, MERITS Hub Manager and Michael Timmons, EU Project Coordinator, who provided an overview of the European supports available through the Enterprise European Network (EEN).

The visit showcased Kildare’s enterprise ecosystem in practice, highlighting how local Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are supported to scale, innovate and access international markets through initiatives such as the EEN, which connects businesses across more than 40 countries.

Following the visit, the Cathaoirleach of the County of Kildare, Councillor Carmel Kelly said: "It was a pleasure to welcome Ambassador Marn and Mrs Marn to County Kildare for the first time and to showcase the many strengths of our county. This visit provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen ties and explore future opportunities."