At the invitation of the German Presidency, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan today attended a virtual informal meeting of ministers for European affairs. The members of the EU General Affairs Council discussed issues relating to the future of Europe and exchanged views on the possibilities of stepping up coordinated action against the COVID-19 pandemic. Ministers of the Western Balkans countries also joined the discussion.

Today, Slovenia's leading conference on innovation “Innovation Day” took place in a virtual format under the title “Symptoms of Creativity”. This year’s event was organised for the first time in partnership with the Creativeforum.si platform launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It brought together over a thousand participants from more than 50 countries, for a lively discussion on the pivotal role of creativity as an international societal driving force and the potential of cooperation between traditional industries and creative sectors. “Supporting creativity and innovation is one of the pillars of Slovenia’s foreign policy, and creativity will be one of Slovenia’s cross-sectoral priorities during its presidency of the Council of the EU”, stated State Secretary Stanislav Raščan in his opening speech.

The Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Icelandic foreign ministry, conducted a study entitled “Empowered diplomacy: bridging the gender gap” on equal opportunities of women and men in diplomacy. Its findings suggest that since 2009, the situation regarding the gender gap in higher positions in Slovenian diplomacy has largely improved. The aim of the project was to obtain up-to-date and transparent insights into gender equality and equal opportunities in diplomacy, and to subsequently identify and design the necessary measures for further improvement.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today held a video conference with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development Cooperation of Iceland, Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson. Minister Logar stressed the positive and friendly bilateral relations and expressed Slovenia’s interest in further deepening economic cooperation with Iceland.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar attended the virtual ministerial meeting of the Regional Forum within the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) as the main platform for fostering dialogue and cooperation in the region. In his address, Minister Logar spoke in favour of further strengthening the relations and cooperation within the UfM to increase security and stability and promote overall development in the Mediterranean.

Today, State Secretary Stanislav Raščan took part in a virtual meeting of Foreign Ministers of EU Member States and Southern Neighbourhood partner countries. Against the backdrop of the 25th anniversary of the Barcelona Process, the ministers exchanged views on the future of the EU-Southern Neighbourhood partnership.

On 24 November 2020, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar took part in the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum, which was organised by the Körber-Stiftung foundation in Berlin together with the German Foreign Ministry. The Forum was opened by the foreign ministers of the Trio Presidency of Germany, Portugal, and Slovenia.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan addressed the participants of today’s webinar on circular economy and challenges emerging during the pandemic, and briefly outlined Slovenia’s experience and cooperation with Latin American countries in this area. The webinar titled Circular Economy in the COVID-19 Era: Challenges and Opportunities is one of the introductory activities of the Latin American and Caribbean Days (LAC Days), an international conference planned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for spring 2021.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan addressed the participants of a virtual seminar on the life and work of Branislava Sušnik, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Paraguay and the Slovene Ethnographic Museum. The event was part of the introductory activities organised as a prelude to the Latin America and Caribbean Days international conference with the central event planned to take place in spring 2021.

On this day 25 years ago, a peace agreement was reached in Dayton. It represents an important milestone in the European history, bringing peace and stability to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The agreement was an important victory of diplomacy over war and brought an end to the conflict in the region and the dreadful atrocities suffered by the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Dayton Peace Agreement still guarantees sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At today's video conference, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar and his Brazilian counterpart, Ernesto Araújo, confirmed the traditionally good relations between their respective countries, expressing mutual interest in finding new ways to build on the existing foundations.

Today, 20 November 2020, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar symbolically handed a keyboard to Mr Matjaž Ugovšek, representative of the Slovenian Sustainability Society “Duh časa” (the Spirit of Time) a non-profit volunteer organisation which has been engaged in collecting used computer equipment since December 2011. The collected computer equipment is made ready for use and donated to individuals, families in need, and non-profit organisations.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today attended a video conference of EU foreign affairs ministers. Two central themes dominated the discussions, multilateralism and the situation in Palestine. Regarding the former, they agreed that the Union has the political, economic and financial power to co-create an effective multilateral order, which provides the best framework for tackling modern global challenges.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar joined his Swedish and Lithuanian counterparts to participate in a virtual ministerial panel on the future of transatlantic relations, held at the beginning of a two-day International Conference Road to Warsaw Security Forum. The foreign ministers discussed the future of relations between Europe and the United States of America and the role of transatlantic leadership in tackling security, economic and other global challenges.

State Secretary Dr. Stanislav Raščan addressed the participants of the US-led virtual Ministers’ Forum of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) via a live video link.

On 17 November 2020, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan attended a video conference of ministers and state secretaries for European affairs to discuss topical issues.

State Secretary Tone Kajzer attended a virtual ministerial conference to promote the freedom of religion or belief, which was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland as a follow-up to the meetings of senior representatives of countries, international organisations, civil society, and religious leaders. The event was intended to discuss the state of religious freedom around the globe.

Today, State Secretary Tone Kajzer held a video call with Polish Undersecretary of State Paweł Jabłoński to discuss economic cooperation, the current activities in both countries in the framework of the Three Seas Initiative and some other topical issues.

For the ninth year in a row, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organised the Africa Day International Conference as part of the Bled Strategic Forum. As always, the event was organised in cooperation with Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and the European Commission. Marking a first for the Conference, this year the event was held virtually, focusing on the central issue – Africa and the EU: Cooperation for a Sustainable Future.

At the invitation of Michael Roth, Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office, a video conference meeting of state secretaries for EU affairs of the Trio presidency Germany-Portugal-Slovenia was held tonight. The state secretaries exchanged views on the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and called for further coordinated action at Union level, particularly with regard to the vaccine and testing. The latter will also be the topic of a video conference meeting of Heads of State and Governments to be held on 19 November.