Interview with the Minister for Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon

We have crossed the threshold of something big, we have been appointed to the most important body of the world organisation, a number of questions are being asked, the key question is what power we will have. What will Slovenia strive for after this decisive vote and what will it commit to in the future?

This is an extraordinary recognition, an extraordinary vote of confidence that we have received. No one imagined that Slovenia could get so many votes, which shows that Slovenia is trusted even by countries with which we have not had close partnership relations. The election as a non-permanent member of the UNSC is also an excellent opportunity for Slovenia's economic, cultural and scientific diplomacy. I am extremely pleased, I can say proud, to have been elected, and I would like to thank all those who have contributed to the best of their abilities. I am thinking here of the Prime Minister, the President of the Republic, the President of the National Assembly, the ministerial team, all our ambassadors for sport, culture and science.

What will be the priorities?

This is a great opportunity and privilege for Slovenia, but also a great responsibility. During the short campaign, we listened to the voices of small countries, more than 100 of them in the UN, who finally cast their votes of support. It will be crucial for us, on the one hand, to defend the foundations of the UN, that is, peace, international law, human rights - for which Slovenia is known and also consistent - and, on the other hand, we will put the emphasis on conflict prevention, on investing in humanitarianism, on investing in development. Let me stress here water diplomacy and the ability to manage natural resources. Slovenia, as a country with clean water, has a lot of knowledge and potential in this area, but also in the area of women's empowerment, helping children... these are topics where Slovenia can show off its expertise. The motto of our campaign to join the UNSC was "Building Trust - Strengthening our Future". The world is deeply divided and paralysed, there are conflicts all over the world, and the priority will be to end the Russian repression in Ukraine as soon as possible and to bring order to the region. It will be necessary to find a way to talk and cooperate with Russia, without dialogue it is impossible to tackle the world's challenges. Slovenia will also be the first link in the UNSC to the situation in the Western Balkans and the voice of the small countries, which, although there are more than a hundred of them in the UN, are very marginalised and often do not participate in decision-making on global challenges.

Will membership of the UNSC also have an impact on the Slovenian economy?

It is a strong link, the economy is looking to us for support, and after many years we have renewed contacts in many parts of the world that guarantee investment in the future. During the campaign, we have been to Asia, Latin America, Africa - the recent national conference in Maribor showed a tremendous opportunity to strengthen the internationalisation of the Slovenian economy - to help Slovenian companies we have recently been with Slovenian companies in Indonesia, Vietnam, Central Asia, and our last visit before the summer will be to South Korea, where we are also opening an embassy. We will be looking for niche opportunities for connections in areas where Slovenians are strong, Slovenia is a strongly export-oriented economy, 15% of our exports go to countries outside the EU, which is very low, so we want to increase exports to other continents. Two years of sitting alongside the biggest countries in the UNSC can position us as a confident, credible country and open up many new opportunities…

..also to a more ambitious position.

I believe that Slovenians can be ambitious too, we like to identify ourselves too much with modesty and smallness. Now is the right moment to be more ambitious. Why should a small country not have ambitious goals? We have the UN Centre for Artificial Intelligence, which is a tremendous opportunity for scientists and for opening up our success stories. We also have a lot of small companies with outstanding achievements, this is recognised more widely, and we can export all these success stories. I am proud to say that we have clean water, which is the envy of many, we have clean air, we are a green forested country - all of these are opportunities to develop tourism and to attract direct investment. We also want to encourage a highly skilled workforce. In addition, Slovenia has no one in the world who attributes to it some negative, difficult stories from the past, no burden of being beholden to anyone. We are seen as a country that can play a very important role in the UN Security Council as a bridge between divided great powers. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine will certainly be one of the central issues that we will have to deal with, and we would like to see an end to the war as soon as possible, peace and stability, and we will certainly have to deal a lot with the war in Ukraine.

How will you staff the new role?

I have a lot of ambitions, we will need all the knowledge and wisdom, cooperation between different actors, including civil society. We are in the process of recruiting all the people who could be involved in this process. I want the project to be coordinated with a strong team from the Foreign Ministry, I want to have control over the guidelines and a broader group that will include all the actors. We will be thinking, talking and equally involved from the bottom up in this project all the time. It is a national project that opens up many new opportunities. There is, of course, the diplomatic team in New York, where we are now building up the number of diplomats, I want a strong team, in short, I want to exploit the potential that we have.

At the end of August, the Bled Strategic Forum will take place. This year's highlights?

Last year's visit and discussions already exceeded all expectations. It is the biggest diplomatic event, raising many social issues, bringing together politics, academia, civil society. We were already surprised by the number of participants last year, and we expect even more interest this year.  Otherwise, activities take place throughout the year. Last year, we hosted over 2000 participants, which was a huge undertaking for our Ministry, including about 80 high-level guests who attended about 25 debates. This year's BSF will focus on ensuring global security, and solidarity for global security will be the theme - solidarity, security and sustainability. We are expecting many events and guests, and the first invitations have already gone out. I also expect a lot from the Forum. It is a strategic reflection for the whole region. We will be looking for reflections on how to respond to today's challenges and look ahead to the future. We are moving from a regional conference to a global conference, we are inviting guests on a more global level, and we want to move from a two-day event to a permanent continuity with events in our neighbourhood. There will also be a strong focus on youth and cooperation with other ministries. It is one beautiful story.

Slovenia was elected as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for the period 2024-2025 in the first round of voting at the UN General Assembly in New York, with 153 votes of support. In the battle for the seat from the Eastern European group, Slovenia defeated Belarus, with 38 votes.

Text: Vesna Žarkovič