Yesterday, the three-day Annual Security Review Conference of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) started, at which the participants will assess the activities undertaken in the last year and review the state of security and implementation of the assumed commitments in the OSCE area. The Slovenian side is represented by Ambassador-at-Large Dr Andrej Benedejčič, Special Envoy of the Foreign Minister for arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation.

Today, Dr Marko Rakovec, Acting Director General of the Directorate for International Law and Protection of Interests at the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Slovenia, and Sigrid Berka, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the Republic of Slovenia, signed the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Federal Government of the Republic of Austria on new border documents for border sectors I to VII on the common border, prepared by the Permanent Slovenian-Austrian Border Commission.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar met with the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio. Today’s was the second meeting the pair have held in the last two weeks. He also met with the Italian Minister for European Affairs, Vincenzo Amendola.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar hosted the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria, Alexander Schallenberg. Today’s was the first bilateral meeting between the ministers, while they already met in person on 16 June in Vienna at the multilateral meeting of foreign ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, which was hosted by Austria. During the Covid-19 pandemic, they held frequent telephone conversations, sometimes even several times per day, if necessary.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar and Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek chaired the Internationalisation Council session.

In today's virtual meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar underlined the positive bilateral cooperation between the two countries and Slovenia’s interest in strengthening the economic ties. The two ministers commended the cooperation in multilateral structures.

Today, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan participated in an informal video conference of ministers for European affairs, focused on preparations for the forthcoming video conference of the EU Heads of State and on the recovery package.

On the occasion of the political endorsement of the next the 18-month programme of the Council, prepared by the future German, Portuguese and Slovenian Presidencies and the High Representative, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Council, the Trio partners declared:

GPAI is an international and multistakeholder initiative to support and guide the responsible use and development of AI, grounded in human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation and economic growth.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan and Acting Secretary-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, Jožef Drofenik, took part in today’s informal online meeting of EU state secretaries and secretaries-general.

In an audio-video conference with the Portuguese Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Teresa Ribeiro, and the German State Secretary, Martin Jäger, State Secretary Tone Kajzer discussed the priorities of the Trio Presidency. They were in full agreement that the Trio’s work will be strongly marked by the COVID-19 pandemic in the coming 18 months. The pandemic has revealed the importance of development cooperation in overcoming social and economic challenges in partner countries.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar and Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Nikola Dimitrov held an online meeting during which they commended the excellent bilateral relations.

State Secretary Tone Kajzer participated in an informal video conference of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in the format of development ministers. The Team Europe Global Response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of play in negotiations for a new EU-ACP partnership (post-Cotonou) agreement, and the future financial architecture for sustainable development were the main items discussed.

On 8 June, World Oceans Day, members of the Green Group issued a joint statement underlining the importance of measures for addressing climate change impacts on marine ecosystems and for preserving the sustainability of oceans worldwide. The Green Group – Cabo Verde, Costa Rica, Iceland, Singapore, Slovenia, and the United Arab Emirates – is an informal association of small countries that, on Slovenia’s initiative, have been promoting issues related to the environment and sustainable development in foreign policy since 2009.

Ambassador Dr Andrej Benedejčič is taking part in the tenth session of the informal Structured Dialogue working group on the current and future challenges and risks to security in the OSCE area. This year’s dialogue between capitals has moved online to deal with the implications of the Covid-19 crisis on politico-military commitments of the OSCE participating States. Various strands are being examined, including military participation in efforts to curb the pandemic, armament control measures, and the emergence of new security threats and challenges in Europe.

Prior to a meeting with Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio scheduled for 6 June in Ljubljana, Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar met with the representatives of the Slovenian national community in Italy. The Minister Responsible for Slovenians Abroad, Helena Jaklitsch, also participated in the meeting.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar participated in a video conference with members of the Slovenian Government and representatives of the OECD. The Slovenian delegation included Minister of Finance Andrej Šircelj, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health Tina Bregant and State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Mateja Ribič. The OECD delegation was headed by Secretary-General Ángel Gurría.

Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar received a farewell call from the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Klaus Peter Riedel, at the end of his four-year term of office.

Today, State Secretary Tone Kajzer participated in the virtual High-Level Pledging Event in response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. He announced an additional pledge by Slovenia, which will be channelled through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Foreign Minister Dr Anže Logar today took part in a video conference of EU ministers of foreign affairs, which was chaired by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. The discussion at the now fifth video conference of foreign ministers focused on relations between the EU and China, the impact of the pandemic in the Asia-Pacific region and on future relations between the EU and said region.