News

State Secretary Marko Štucin holds political consultations with Martin Eyjólfsson, Permanent Secretary of State of Iceland at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Reykjavik. During their talks, they reviewed bilateral cooperation between Slovenia and Iceland and expressed interest in strengthening multilateral cooperation, especially in the field of human rights and gender equality.

The third meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation between the Republic of Slovenia and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam took place today in Brdo pri Kranju. The meeting was co-chaired by Tanja Fajon, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, and Nguyen Hong Dien, Minister of Industry and Trade, and was organised as a follow-up to Minister Fajon's visit to Vietnam this past May.

State Secretary Marko Štucin held consultations in Oslo with State Secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eivind Vad Petersson. Alongside bilateral relations, the talks also focused on current European and international issues.

State Secretary Marko Štucin took part in the ministerial meeting of the Berlin Process participating countries hosted by the Albanian Chairmanship in Tirana. On the margins of the meeting, he met Deputy Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania Megi Fino.

Minister Tanja Fajon met today in Pretoria with Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa. This is the first visit by a Slovenian Foreign Minister to South Africa and represents an important step in strengthening bilateral relations, which is of great value in the context of Slovenia's upcoming non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

Minister Tanja Fajon has begun her first official visit to South Africa as Deputy Prime Minister and Slovenian Foreign Minister. The main objective of the visit is to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in the economic and scientific fields, as well as to improve cooperation within the UN, in the context of Slovenia's non-permanent membership of the Security Council.

The 11th Slovenian Development Days are in full swing. The event traditionally takes place in the first week of October to present to the Slovenian public the contribution of Slovenia and its partners to sustainable development, global solidarity and world peace.

Today, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon participated in the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv, in the presence of Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also took part in the meeting.

Minister Tanja Fajon addressed deputies at a public hearing at the National Assembly on the subject of increased use of qualified majority voting in EU foreign and security policy. She stressed: "I am not an advocate of changing the EU Treaties, but I would like to see a reasoned debate on the wider use of the instruments at our disposal to make decision-making more effective and to protect our national interests."

The 11th Slovenian Development Days will take place in Ljubljana from 2 to 6 October. The Slovenian public will be able to learn more about how Slovenia is responding to the numerous global crises and humanitarian needs in the world and how, together with its partners, it is contributing to global solidarity, sustainable development and peace in the world.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon took part in a meeting of foreign ministers of the Central5 (C5) group, which comprises Slovenia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. The focus was on Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Western Balkans and the fight against irregular migration.

The 3rd Consultation of Honorary Consuls of Slovenia, which will take place until Friday 29 September 2023, has started in Nova Gorica. This is an important event for the promotion of Slovenia and its economy abroad. Of the 143 Slovenian honorary consuls from all over the world, 77 are participating.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon took part in a reinforced meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council at the invitation of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani. She also delivered a statement at the 67th regular session of the IAEA General Conference, with Slovenia concluding its mandate.

State Secretary Marko Štucin hosted the State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Filip Tosevski, for consultations. The counterparts were pleased with the intensive political dialogue and excellent relations between the two countries. They exchanged views on topical regional, European and international issues.

On the margins of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Minister Tanja Fajon hosted the first meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Successor States of the former SFRY. Slovenia initiated the meeting to mark the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of the Agreement on Succession Issues, with a view to promoting talks on resolving the outstanding succession issues.

On the margins of the general debate of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, attended the preparatory ministerial meeting for the Summit of the Future, which was opened by the President of the 78th UNGA, Dennis Francis, and the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres.

The 8th Mediterranean Coast and Macro-Regional Strategies Week takes place in Izola under the motto "Stronger cooperation for a better future". This year's Week is marked by Slovenia's ongoing Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) and the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region, which Slovenia will chair in 2024.

Slovenia is participating in the oral hearing as an intervening State in the proceedings before the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the case of Ukraine v. Russian Federation, which runs from 18 to 27 September 2023. Ukraine has lodged a complaint against the Russian Federation for alleged violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

State Secretary Marko Štucin hosted Leo Docherty, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Europe at the UK Department for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Development, for a return visit to Slovenia. Their talks were aimed at deepening bilateral relations and exchanging views on some topical European and international issues.

On the sidelines of the 78th UN General Assembly, Minister Tanja Fajon held a series of bilateral talks, including with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, Foreign Minister of Ecuador Gustavo Manrique Miranda, and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Enrique Manalo.