Today in the UN Security Council, Slovenia hosted the main event of its Presidency, an open debate entitled "Leadership for Peace", which focused on the Security Council’s actions on three foreign policy issues: Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan. It was chaired by Prime Minister Robert Golob.

At the invitation of Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, Minister Fajon took part in a meeting of European and Arab foreign ministers. The discussion focused on strengthening joint efforts and initiatives aimed at realising the two-state solution and achieving peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. They agreed that more diplomacy and international cooperation are needed to resolve this conflict.

During the discussion on Russia's aggression against Ukraine at the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers, Minister Tanja Fajon expressed concern about attempts to attack nuclear power plants. On the Middle East, she stressed the need for an immediate temporary ceasefire in Gaza in order to carry out vaccination campaigns to protect children against polio. She also supported the debate on the imposition of further sanctions upon Israel.

Following the conclusion of the second Strategic Partnership for Humanitarian Emergency Response with Slovenian Karitas, Minister Tanja Fajon met with its Secretary General, Peter Tomažič. The two officials praised the partnership as very good and the cooperation as effective and reciprocal. They reviewed the humanitarian activities already agreed, especially in Gaza and Ukraine, and discussed further plans.

In its Advisory opinion the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held that Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory breach some of the most elementary rules and principles of international law, including the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon took part in the UNRWA Pledging Conference at UN Headquarters. This annual event aims to encourage countries to make financial contributions to support UNRWA in carrying out its activities.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon handed over a note to the Palestinian ambassador, Salah Abdel-Shafi, on the diplomatic recognition of a Palestinian state and the simultaneous establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Slovenia and the State of Palestine.

"After a series of consultations over the past few days, I have decided to place on the agenda of Thursday's Government meeting a decision to forward recognition of Palestine to the National Assembly."

At the regular monthly meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, ministers, including Slovenian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon, stressed the need to comply with the decisions of the relevant international courts and agreed that the EU should play a more active role in the process of strengthening the Palestinian Authority. Fajon said that the Slovenian government was working to recognise Palestine as soon as possible.

"I welcome today's announcement by the leaders of the Kingdom of Spain, the Republic of Ireland and the Kingdom of Norway on recognising the State of Palestine. In recent weeks, I have been in close and regular contact with them. In the coming days, I will also be in contact with many colleagues from EU Member States that have not yet recognised Palestine, in the hope that they join the recognition process in the near future.

On the fourth day of her Middle East and Gulf tour, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar. The main topic of the talks was the Middle East, including the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

In the second part of her visit to the Middle East and the Gulf, Minister Tanja Fajon visited Egypt. She and her Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, agreed that every effort must be made to bring Israel and Hamas back to the negotiating table. On the first day, the Minister visited the Red Crescent logistics depot and a hospital in Arish, North Sinai, and later travelled to the Rafah Border Crossing.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon visited Israel and Palestine and met with senior officials on both sides. She called on Israel to abandon its plan to attack Rafah and suggested that both sides consider dialogue. She expressed the hope that the negotiations in Cairo would lead to a ceasefire agreement and the release of the hostages.

At the regular monthly meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon made a strong plea for continued support for Ukraine and for European diplomats to do more to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon met with representatives of the Call for Palestine petition, Dr Rudi Rizman, the first signatory, as well as Aurelio Juri, Dr Spomenka Hribar, Dr Danijel Rebolj, Dr Primož Šterbenc and Dr Maja Breznik. They exchanged views on the war in Gaza and the situation in the Middle East and the wider region.

Prime Minister's statement: "Finally some good news from New York. The UN Security Council has agreed on a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Slovenia, together with the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, played a key role in proposing the resolution.

Today, the UN Security Council convened a briefing on food insecurity in Gaza, requested by Slovenia, Algeria, Guyana and Switzerland. The meeting followed a white note of 22 February, sent by OCHA to Council members on food security risks in Gaza.

Slovenia presented its intervention at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the context of the request for advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, initiated by the UN General Assembly in December 2022. Slovenia’s main arguments are the right of Palestinians to self-determination and the obligations of Israel as an occupying force.

Today, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia sent material aid intended for Gaza to Jordan from Ljubljana's Jože Pučnik Airport. “This is Slovenia's first direct aid to the people of Gaza,” said Prime Minister Golob.

At today's regular session, the Slovenian Government adopted a decision on a financial contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the amount of EUR 500,000.