News

On the final day of the UN Water Conference, Minister Fajon participated in the roundtable entitled “Water Action Decade: Accelerating the implementation of the objectives of the Decade”. She also held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the event.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon is attending the United Nations Water Conference in New York. This is only the second time in 45 years that a conference has been devoted exclusively to water. “Slovenia has succeeded in getting 150 countries to support its proposal for the appointment of a UN Special Envoy for Water. This is a great success for Slovenian diplomacy”, said Minister Fajon.

On the occasion of World Water Day, Štanjel Castle played host to the Business-to-Diplomacy (B2D) event "World Water Day 2023 – Accelerating Change". Slovenian water technology companies and institutions presented themselves to the foreign diplomatic corps.

State Secretary Marko Štucin attended the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels. Ministers and state secretaries for European affairs focused on preparations for the European Council, EU-UK relations and the rule of law.

The following statement has been issued in the name of the Group of Friends for an Ambitious EU Climate Diplomacy by Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden.

The first meeting of the Steering Committee of the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C), launched by the Republic of Slovenia together with the French Republic and Montenegro in 2022, will take place in Paris on 21–22 March.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which proclaims that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. That is why, on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we issue a call for tolerance, respect and an end to hate speech. This is the only way we can move forward as a society.

Minister Tanja Fajon attended a regular meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. The main themes were the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and Tunisia. The event was followed by a joint meeting of foreign and defence ministers on EU assistance to Ukraine and the implementation of the Strategic Compass. The ministers also adopted conclusions on Afghanistan and EU priorities in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

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.

State Secretary Marko Štucin today hosted the Polish Minister for the EU, Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk in Ljubljana. In addition to bilateral relations, the talks focused on topical European and international issues.

At an extraordinary session of the National Assembly, Tanja Fajon, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, presented the reasons for the rejection of the resolution that would classify Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. She reiterated Slovenia’s strong support for Ukraine and emphasised that, instead of creating division and separation, all efforts should be directed towards ending Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Priority Area Coordinators (PAC) of the EU Strategy for the Danube region (EUSDR) met in Maribor. At the meeting, there were 12 EUSDR thematic teams from 14 countries of the region, representatives of the Danube Region Programme, the European Commission, the Danube Youth Council (DYC) and the secretariat of the EUSDR, the Danube Strategy Point. The event was organised by Slovenian EUSDR Presidency with the support of the Danube Strategy Point and the University of Maribor.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon met with representatives of the Slovenian national minority in Italy to exchange information and views on current issues relating to the minority, ahead of the visit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Italian Republic, Antonio Tajani, to Slovenia on Friday, 17 March. The meeting was also attended by Minister for Slovenians Abroad Matej Arčon.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon handed over two Ljubljana Passenger Transport buses, which the Municipality of Ljubljana donated to Ukraine, to the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Slovenia, Andriy Taran. “Today we continue our assistance to Ukraine, this time, too, supporting the most vulnerable in the war – children and young people –, so that they can get to school more safely in these difficult circumstances.”

In the framework of the quadrilateral meeting between Slovenia, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, Acting Director-General of the Directorate for International Law and Protection of Interests, Dr Marko Rakovec, hosted the meeting of legal advisers. This was the first meeting at the level of legal advisers in the quadrilateral format, which has been held at deputy foreign ministers level since 2011.

Acting Director-General of the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Edvin Skrt attended an informal meeting of EU development ministers in Stockholm to discuss global health in the light of the implementation of the new EU Global Health Strategy, the situation in Ukraine, with a focus on its reconstruction, and the reform of international development banks.

On International Women’s Day, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, Tanja Fajon, set out the concept of a feminist foreign policy, which is a cross-cutting theme of the new foreign policy strategy, and announced that the Ministry intends to increase its focus on gender equality and respect for the rights and the empowerment of women and girls around the world. The Feminist Foreign Policy Strategy will be launched on the International Day of Women in Diplomacy, on 24 June.

During a visit to Dublin, State Secretary Marko Štucin held bilateral consultations with Peter Burke, Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence in the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland. The two officials discussed the strengthening of bilateral relations and engaged in an in-depth exchange of views on current European and international topics.

State Secretary Marko Štucin met Leo Docherty, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Europe at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, during a visit to London. They talked about further strengthening bilateral relations and exchanged views on topical European and international affairs.

At the UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Doha, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon participated in the round table entitled ‘Leveraging the power of science, technology and innovation for the sustainable development of least developed countries’. She stressed the importance of cooperation, solidarity and development aid to eradicate poverty and inequality. On the sidelines of the Conference, Minister Fajon held a number of bilateral talks.