News

Today marks the end of the first international defence fair with the SIDEC 2025 expert conference and the 5th event »V službi domovine«, where the Slovenian Armed Forces traditionally showcase themselves to the wider public, taking place at the Celje Exhibition Centre.

The Celje Exhibition Centre is currently hosting SIDEC 2025, the region's leading event in the field of defence, security, and advanced technologies. Through this event, the Ministry of Defence and the Slovenian Defence Industry Cluster are promoting Slovenian industry internationally. At the same time the event »V službi domovine« is also taking place, which was visited today by the Minister of Defence, Borut Sajovic.

At the Celje Exhibition Centre, where the first International Defence Fair SIDEC 2025 and the professional conference of the same name are taking place, the topics of future technologies and artificial intelligence were at the forefront of the conference today. Numerous meetings took place throughout the fair, demonstrating that it is becoming an important platform for dialogue and networking.

The Minister of Defence, Borut Sajovic, opened the first International Defence, Security, Protection, and Rescue Fair (SIDEC 2025) at the Celje Congress Centre today. Until Friday 24 October, more than 170 companies from 20 countries will be showcasing their products and services.

As part of the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, an informal meeting of European Union defence ministers was held in Copenhagen on 28 and 29 August 2025, attended by Minister of Defense Borut Sajovic.

Today, the Ministry of Defence hosted a presentation of the Slovenian-Croatian Cyber Range Connect project, aimed at establishing a federation of cyber training ranges on the SimSpace platform. This places both countries among the leaders in the European Union and NATO in connecting cyber training ranges outside of multinational projects.

The conference titled “Artificial intelligence - new trends in development and challenges for Slovenia" was held at Jablje Castle. The focus was on the rapidly developing trends and complex challenges that position artificial intelligence (AI) in all societal domains – from public administration and the economy to education, new models of behaviour and organisation, as well as current issues of ethical use, hybrid protection, security and defence.

The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Sajovic, attended a two-day ministerial meeting of the United Nations (UN) member states on peacekeeping in Berlin on May 13 and 14. The meeting discussed the future of UN peacekeeping operations.

Prime Minister Robert Golob attended a state ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, where he delivered a keynote address. The ceremony was dedicated to remembering the past, expressing gratitude and reflecting on the values that continue to unite us today.

Today, at a correspondence meeting, the Government adopted a decision to deploy an expert to the EU Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team, as requested by the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) through the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism, in view of the massive earthquake in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

Yesterday, Piotr Serafin, European Commissioner for Budget, visited Slovenia as part of the preparations for the European Union’s next long-term budget. During his visit, he was briefed on the protection and rescue system and the reforms underway in this area.

The regular NATO defense ministers' meeting took place in Brussels, attended by minister mag. Borut Sajovic and his delegation.

Slovenia continues to see positive trends in the level of defence spending, both in nominal terms and as a share of gross domestic product (GDP).

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has decided to provide material aid in the form of food and sanitation items to the Palestinian civilian population affected by the war in Gaza, via Jordan.

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has taken a decision to provide relief to the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe affected by floods in September this year following their request for assistance through the EU civil protection mechanism by dispatching up to five different post-flood emergency aid units or by providing material aid totalling up to 600,000 euros.

Dr Damir Črnčec, State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, participated in a plenary discussion titled "NATO Beyond 75: An Alliance Fit for the Future" at the Bled Strategic Forum on 3 September. On the occasion NATO’s 75th anniversary, which has had several enlargements whilst successfully exercising deterrence, the panellists focused on current security challenges and the way forward.

Prime Minister Robert Golob, who also serves as the Minister of Defence, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Damir Črnčec, Civil Protection Commander Srečko Šestan, and the Director-General of the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, Leon Behin, were briefed on the situation in relation to the fire in the Karst. The Prime Minister assessed the operations of all deployed units as extremely fast and efficient.

The activities in response to the fire in the Karst are still ongoing. The fire that broke out today on the Trstelj and Kačnik hills has not yet been extinguished, but the situation is stable. New firefighting units with more than 350 firefighters will tackle the fire overnight.

A fire broke out this morning in the Karst region of Trstelj. Strong winds caused the fire to spread over the entire hill and move towards Nova Gorica. At 10:34 a.m., RS Civil Protection Commander Srečko Šestan activated the National Protection and Rescue Plan for the event of a major fire in the natural environment.

The State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, Dr Damir Črnčec, and the National Armaments Director at the Ministry of Defence of the French Republic, General Gaël Diaz de Tuesta, have signed a Letter of Intent on the European joint procurement of Caesar artillery and Mistral air defence systems (hereinafter referred to as the "Letter of Intent").