On 29 March 2004, the Republic of Slovenia became a full member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) after successfully depositing its Instrument of Accession in Washington. By joining this important political-military alliance, Slovenia achieved one of the main foreign policy and defence-military objectives it set itself at the time of its independence in 1991. This historic milestone was celebrated yesterday with a high-level meeting, panel discussions and a national ceremony at the Brdo Congress Centre.

In recent weeks, some Slovenian and foreign media have published fake news that the Republic of Slovenia was involved in sending 155 mm grenades purchased in India to Ukraine.

Today, two days before World Holocaust Remembrance Day, the military facility Kadetnica in Maribor hosted the opening of a guest exhibition entitled A Tale of Two Transports, the Jews of Medjimurje and Prekmurje during the Holocaust, prepared by Boris Hajdinjak, Director of the Centre of Jewish Cultural Heritage Synagogue Maribor.

The Siol.net portal has published an article entitled "The forgotten lesson of 1991, when Slovenians drove out the occupier" in the Active Citizenship thematic section, which provides readers with in-depth information on specific topics. Within the article, Dr. Damir Črnčec, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, addresses questions regarding the current state of the Slovenian Armed Forces and their preparedness for a potential escalation of armed conflict in Europe.

On the margins of the NATO Ministerial Meeting in October 2022, the Republic of Slovenia, together with 14 other countries, signed a Letter of Intent to join the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), initiated by the Federal Republic of Germany and involving 19 European countries as of July 2023.

A ceremony marking the arrival of the first C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft was held today at the Cerklje ob Krki airfield.

State Secretaries at the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia Dr Damir Črnčec and at the Ministry of Defence of the Federal Republic of Germany Benedikt Zimmer signed today in Berlin a Programme Agreement between the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia and the Federal Ministry of Defence of the Federal Republic of Germany on the participation of the Republic of Slovenia in the procurement of IRIS-T SLM systems in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding on the Joint Procurement of Air Defence Systems within the framework of the European Sky Defence Initiative.

The Minister of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia, Marjan Šarec, and the Minister of Defence of the Italian Republic, Guido Crosetto, signed an amendment to the Implementing Agreement between the Ministry of Defence of the Italian Republic and the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia on cooperation in the field of military aviation (hereinafter referred to as the Implementing Agreement), which defines the purchase of additional six Leonardo AW139M multirole helicopters, based on the Government-to-Government model.

Ministry of Defence has received cyber defence equipment from the US government to improve the security of communication and information systems, and the cyber defence capabilities of SAF and DoD personnel.

The Minister of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia, Marjan Šarec, and the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Italy, Guido Crosetto, have signed an amendment to the Implementing Agreement between the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Italy and the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia on cooperation in the field of military aviation (hereinafter: the Implementing Agreement), signed on 17 November 2021, which defines the purchase of a second C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft, based on the Government-to-Government model.

On Tuesday, 29th of August, the Bled Strategic Forum hosted a panel titled Ukraine: the Power of Solidarity. The panellists included Dr Damir Črnčec, State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia, Krsto Perović, State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence of Montenegro, Andrii Taran, Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Slovenia, Krzysztof Jan Olendzki, Ambassador of Poland to the Republic of Slovenia, and Holger Haibach from the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung for Croatia and Slovenia. The panel was moderated by Katja Geršak.

Today, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Damir Črnčec, and the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of Montenegro, Dr Krsto Perović, signed an Agreement between the Ministries of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia and Montenegro on cooperation in the field of military reconnaissance and aerial surveillance and monitoring based on the joint procurement of Belin unmanned aerial systems.

At the end of the first week of August, heavy rainfall across much of Slovenia resulted in catastrophic floods and devastation. Slovenian rescue teams were joined by helicopter teams from neighbouring Hungary and Croatia on August 7th and 8th to help fortify the Mura River embankments and prevent further destruction.

The situation in Slovenia was presented at a press conference by Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, Minister of Defence Marjan Šarec, Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar, Commander of the Civil Protection of the Republic of Slovenia Srečko Šestan and hydrologist of the Slovenian Environment Agency Janez Polajnar.

The Environment Agency of the Republic of Slovenia held a press conference to present the first information on the extent of today’s rainfall. In addition to representatives of the Environment Agency, the press conference was attended by Srečko Šestan, Commander of the Civil Protection of the Republic of Slovenia, Neža Kodre, Director of the Slovenian Water Agency, and Marjan Šarec, Minister of Defence.

Minister of Defence Marjan Šarec is in the State of Colorado to attend the 30th anniversary of the cooperation between the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia and the Colorado National Guard in the State of Colorado. On this occasion, he met with Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Colorado National Guard Commander Brigadier General Laura L. Clellan.

A two-day summit of the NATO Alliance in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius has concluded. It was attended by the Prime Minister, Dr Robert Golob, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Tanja Fajon, and the Minister of Defence, Marjan Šarec.

A two-day summit of the heads of state and government of the NATO Alliance is taking place in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, attended by the Prime Minister, Dr Robert Golob, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Tanja Fajon, and the Minister of Defence, Marjan Šarec.

Slovenian Minister of Defence Marjan Šarec hosted his Romanian counterpart Angel Tîlvăr on an official visit to Slovenia. The meeting aimed at strengthening bilateral and regional cooperation in the field of defence and military affairs, with a focus on Slovenia's possible participation in the NATO eVA Battle Group in Romania.

On Thursday, 15 and Friday, 16 June 2023, Minister of Defence Marjan Šarec attended the NATO Defence Ministers' Meeting in Brussels.