News

The latest information on the floods in Slovenia was presented at the press conference by meteorologist Brane Gregorčič and hydrologist Janez Polajnar, both from the Slovenian Environment Agency, Director of the Slovenian Water Agency Neža Kodre and Commander of the Civil Protection of the Republic of Slovenia Srečko Šestan.

With 332 million, the United States of America presents an important market with many opportunities for the Slovenian economy and tourism. It can take several years for companies to successfully penetrate the US market, and Slovenia as a country can open doors through increased promotion.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon took part in the regular meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, which focused on the war in Ukraine. Ministers also met with Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh, and heard a report from Minister Fajon on her joint visit to Montenegro with Austrian Foreign Minister Schallenberg.

From 18 to 20 January 2023, Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon attended the 53rd World Economic Forum in Davos, a meeting point for leaders, civil society representatives and top-performing business people.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs organised an international event entitled Humanitarian crisis, protection of critical infrastructure and the environment during armed conflicts and in relation to peacebuilding measures: Legal challenges of the 21st century, which was aimed at seeking solutions that could contribute to enhancing respect for international humanitarian law in practice. This is particularly relevant in the light of the war in Ukraine and the Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure in the country.

On 19 January 2023, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Strategy for the Cooperation of the Republic of Slovenia with the OECD until the end of 2025.

On her first official visit to Pristina, Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon met Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of the Republic of Kosovo Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz. The meeting was aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries, with a focus on economic cooperation, the situation in the country and discussion on Kosovo's European perspective.

During her working visit to Sarajevo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dr Bisera Turković, Chairwoman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željka Cvijanović, and Presidency members Željko Komšić and Dr Denis Bećirović. This was also the first political visit from Slovenia since BiH was granted candidate status.

Today, State Secretary Samuel Žbogar hosted Sanjay Verma, Secretary for the West of the Ministry of External Affairs of India, in Ljubljana for political consultations. The two officials reviewed the key areas of bilateral cooperation and went on to exchange views on the topical regional and global themes.

At the start of the year, Slovenia became a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for the 2023–2025 period. This is Slovenia's first membership of this UN body, which coordinates the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

Six Ambassadors-at-Large, two of whom are women, namely for the future of Europe, the insitutional EU matters, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the Western Balkans, climate diplomacy and water diplomacy have been appointed by Foreign Minister Fajon. Through these appointments, the Minister aims to ensure visibility and active engagement in some of the priority areas of Slovenia's foreign policy.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon attended an event to mark Croatia joining the Schengen area and the eurozone at the Obrežje/Bregana border crossing point, which was hosted by Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon met with Ambassador of Ukraine Andrii Taran at the Medicop company headquarters in Nemčavci near Murska Sobota today to hand over two ambulances that Slovenia has donated to Ukraine.

Today, two wounded Ukrainians arrived in Slovenia, accompanied by an attendant. Both will receive full medical assistance and care. In the spirit of solidarity, Slovenia is joining 18 other EU member states in the care for the wounded and sick from the warzone. We are thereby expanding our political, humanitarian, material and military support for Ukraine to include medical aid.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon and Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs Alexander Schallenberg visited Montenegro on behalf and at the request of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. They met President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović, Prime Minister Dritan Abazović, and Assembly Speaker Danijela Đurović.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon met her Serbian counterpart Ivica Dačić during an official visit to Belgrade. Their meeting focused on enhancing bilateral relations between their two countries, succession issues and Serbia's rapprochement with the EU.

State Secretary Marko Štucin held talks at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin with Minister of State for Europe and Climate Dr Anna Lührmann, State Secretary Andreas Michaelis and Director for Europe Sibylle Sorg. The meeting was aimed at identifying ways to strengthen the strategic partnership between Slovenia and Germany, and also provided an opportunity for an exchange of views on topical European and international themes.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon and Minister of Economic Development and Technology Matjaž Han discussed with key internationalisation players the support for the Slovenian economy abroad at the Economic Internationalisation Council.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is very pleased that EU leaders at the European Council on 15 December took the important political decision to grant EU candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon took part in the 45th Commemorative Summit of the ASEAN-EU in Brussels. The event was the first to bring together the highest representatives of all of the member states of the two organisations. She also held numerous bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Summit.

State Secretary Marko Štucin attended the regular meeting of the General Affairs Council in Brussels on the preparations for the European Council meeting and the conclusions on enlargement and stabilisation and association process.

The "Standing with the Ukrainian People" conference in Paris, bringing together high and senior representatives of 70 states and international organisations, was held on 13 December. At the conference organised by France, Slovenia was represented by Ambassador Metka Ipavic.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon took part in the regular meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, chaired by High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. The meeting focused on the Russian aggression against Ukraine and on the situation in Iran. A meeting of the EU-Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers was held in the morning in advance of the Council meeting.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon hosted the second high-level event of the Digital for Development (D4D) Hub for Latin America and the Caribbean in Brussels. In her opening address, the Minister underlined the need to strengthen partnership and cooperation on AI.

Minister Fajon took part in the 10th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), themed: "Three Continents, Three Oceans, a Common Destiny: Let's Build a Resilient and Sustainable OACPS". On the margins of the Summit, she held numerous bilateral meetings.

State Secretary Marko Štucin held bilateral consultations in Stockholm with Swedish Minister for EU Affairs Jessika Roswall. They discussed the priorities of the Swedish EU Council Presidency, current European and international topics and EU enlargement to the Western Balkans.

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December, the day that saw the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, which is regarded as the foundation for all future international human rights instruments. This year's slogan is: "Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All".

On this day 74 years ago, in recognition of the grave suffering and tragedies of WW II, the 50 Member States of the United Nations unanimously adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, one of the UN's fundamental documents.

Slovenia has formally filed a declaration of intervention before the International Court of Justice in The Hague relating to the Ukraine vs Russian Federation proceedings for violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

In Helsinki, State Secretary Štucin held bilateral consultations with Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen, Permanent State Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Jukka Salovaara and Director of Foreign and Security Policy in the Cabinet of the President Petri Hakkarainen.

During a bilateral visit, State Secretary Marko Štucin met with Minister of State for Europe Laurence Boone. They discussed strengthening strategic relations between Slovenia and France and went on to exchange views on current European and international topics.

State Secretary Marko Štucin attended the 21st session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and participated in the general discussion. Alongside the Assembly session, he engaged in numerous bilateral dialogues.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has earmarked an additional 100,000 euros for humanitarian aid to Ukraine to help people survive the approaching harsh winter, as the devastating effects of the war continue.

During a visit to the Hague, State Secretary Marko Štucin met with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Director-General for European Cooperation Anita van den Ende. They discussed the strengthening of bilateral relations and current European topics, including the situation in Ukraine, the energy crisis, the rule of law, EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, migration and Schengen.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon addressed more than 100 local staff members from almost all diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Republic of Slovenia, who are attending their first ever consultation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon addressed the panel entitled “Reviving Multilateralism: the UN in Times of Crisis” at the Rome MED 2022 (Mediterranean Dialogues) International Conference. In her speech, she emphasised in particular the importance of cooperation, dialogue and confidence-building in international relations.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon attended the 29th Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Łódź, Poland, where foreign ministers discussed the war in Ukraine and the current situation within the OSCE.

Under the leadership of the National Coordination of Macro-Regional Strategies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Slovenia will hold the Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) from 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2023. Its term will conclude with the EUSDR Annual Forum, which Slovenia is planning to hold on 24–25 October 2023 at Brdo pri Kranju.

State Secretary Samuel Žbogar attended the Ministerial Council between the EU and the Organisation of African, Caribbean, Pacific States. The Ministers discussed global issues, in particular food and energy security, the Post-Cotonou Agreement, the implementation of the Partnership Agreement, the Global Gateway Strategy and the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), as well as cooperation in international forums.

The plenary meeting of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) is taking place in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 28 November to 1 December 2022. The Slovenian delegation presented the life and work of one of the most important chronicler of the historical events and tragedies of the 20th century, writer Boris Pahor, who passed away in May 2022 at the age of 108, to the Committee on the Holocaust, Genocide and Crimes against Humanity.

State Secretary Samuel Žbogar attended the Foreign Affairs Council in its development configuration. The meeting discussed the follow-up to the sixth EU-African Union Summit and Team Europe’s crisis response, with a focus on Ukraine and Afghanistan.

At the request of the Ukrainian side, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide 370,000 euros in humanitarian aid for the purchase of an ambulance for the transport of premature babies and mothers. The donation agreement was signed today by the Acting Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Renata Cvelbar Bek, and the Ambassador of Ukraine to Slovenia, Mr Andrii Taran.

In the wake of the global food crisis, which has deepened since the start of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has proposed that Slovenia join Ukrainian President Zelenskiy's 'Grain from Ukraine' initiative, in which Ukraine donates grain while donor countries, including Slovenia, finance shipping to the least developed countries in Africa and Asia, where people are at risk of starvation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has supported a project to complete the renovation of a rehabilitation home in Ukraine. With the project, which will be implemented by the Ministry’s strategic partner for humanitarian aid, Slovenian Caritas, Slovenia will help ensure facilities for the proper care and rehabilitation of 90 children, people with disabilities and young people with special needs, who are increasing in number as a consequence of the bombing.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs joins the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Violence against women remains one of the most common human rights violations around the world. For many years, the global average of one in three women experiencing violence in their lifetime has remained unchanged.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon attended the 7th Regional Forum Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the EU-Southern Neighbourhood Ministerial Meeting held in Barcelona. The ministers discussed the impact of the current situation in the region on younger generations and its improvement, solidarity, and cooperation, and outlined the way forward for the work of the UfM.

State Secretary Žbogar and Omani Deputy Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalifa Al-Harthy held the first political consultations between Slovenia and Oman in Muscat. These are the first consultations since the signing of the Agreement on the Establishment of Political Consultations in December 2021, which forms the basis for further regular contacts at this level.

State Secretary Samuel Žbogar, accompanied by a Slovenian business delegation, attended a Saudi-Slovenian business forum, organised at the Association of Saudi Chambers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He met with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia Adel bin Ahmed Al Jubeir.

Minister Fajon presented to the students of the Faculty of Social Sciences the role of Slovenia in addressing current challenges and the multilateral aspect of Slovenia's foreign policy. In her presentation titled "Confidence in the Future: Slovenia in the United Nations Security Council," she spoke about Slovenia's candidature for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2024–2025 term.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon addressed the participants of the 4th Latin America and Caribbean Days conference (LAC Days 2022). The event was held in a virtual format under the theme "Water-related disaster risk management in a changing climate" and focused on climate change, water, and digital solutions to address the current challenges facing both regions.