News

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan participated in the regular General Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg. As part of the annual rule of law dialogue, the General Affairs Council reviewed the situation with regard to the rule of law in five member states and discussed the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar attended the regular EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting chaired by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. The main topics on the agenda were the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the Global Gateway strategy.

Today marks the beginning of the 12th session of the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWGA) focusing on the contribution of older persons to sustainable development and economic security. Slovenia, as a staunch advocate for regulating the rights of older persons through international law, is represented by State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar telephoned Carlos Alberto Franco França, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Minister Logar recalled the 30th anniversary of Brazil's recognition of Slovenia and of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which will be marked this year.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the vote of the UN General Assembly to suspend the Russian Federation’s rights of membership in the Human Rights Council.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan met with the Minister of Economy and Planning of Saudi Arabia, Faisal Al-Ibrahim. In the focus of their talks was a mutual interest in strengthening cooperation between Slovenia and Saudi Arabia, particularly in the economy.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan today attended a virtual high-level meeting on food and nutrition crises in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions. He announced Slovenia’s humanitarian contribution worth EUR 50,000 in 2022, which will be channelled through the World Food Programme (WFP) to meet the most urgent needs in the central Sahel.

Igor Jukič, Director-General for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation, took part in a meeting of EU directors-general for development cooperation. The discussion focused on the situation in Ukraine, ways to improve cooperation with partner countries in a changing geopolitical context, the Team Europe initiatives, the European Financial Architecture for Development, and global health.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan spoke at a round table discussion organised by the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for visiting students of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. He outlined the Foreign Policy Strategy of the Republic of Slovenia, adopted by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia in December 2021, and stressed the importance of multilateralism for global peace and security.

In view of the ongoing Russian military violence against Ukraine, the serious violations of international law and the killings of innocent Ukrainian civilians revealed by comparing satellite and other imagery after the liberation from the Russian aggressors, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Slovenian Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Branko Rakovec, for a consultation.

Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia summoned the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Timur Eyvazov, to express dismay and the harshest protest at the clear evidence that the armed forces of the Russian Federation committed war crimes against the civilian population in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. Together with partners, allies and the International Criminal Court, Slovenia will do its utmost to hold the perpetrators accountable for these horrific crimes.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan participated in the Moldova Support Conference in Berlin convened by the foreign ministries of Germany, France and Romania and attended by the Moldovan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Dr Raščan reaffirmed Slovenia's support for Moldova’s European perspective and outlined Slovenia’s envisaged aid measures.

In the framework of trilateral cooperation in the North Adriatic Sea, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar met for the third time with foreign ministers of Croatia Gordan Grlić Radman and of Italy Luigi di Maio in Zaprešić, Croatia. The ministers took stock of the cooperation in the fields of connectivity, the blue economy and environmental protection, and reviewed concrete proposals for further cooperation.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan met with Märt Volmer, Undersecretary for Europe in the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Tallinn, where he also took part in the conference "Small States in the UN Security Council: Working for Peace to Overcome the Scourge of War”.

State Secretary Dr Stanislav Raščan took part in the High-level Pledging Event on Supporting the Humanitarian Response in Afghanistan. In his intervention, he announced that Slovenia would contribute another EUR 50,000 through the United Nations Population Fund – UNFPA for addressing the most urgent humanitarian needs of the Afghan people.

Boštjan Lesjak has safely arrived in Kyiv to start serving as Slovenia’s chargé d'affaires ad interim to Ukraine. Upon arrival, he said that the city was empty with audible alarms and detonations in the distance, but that day-to-day life was running normally for those who remained in the capital. As of 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, the Slovenian Embassy will thus be open again.

Due to numerous false claims made over the past few days by media outlets and subsequently by individual political parties about the decision to send a chargé d’affaires ad interim of the Republic of Slovenia to Kyiv, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to communicate its response to the most frequently highlighted false statements. It should be noted that the claims relating to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the procedure of appointment of a chargé d’affaires have not been previously verified with the lead authority.

At Expo 2020, participants in the round table convened on World Water Day by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning and Spirit Slovenija discussed groundwater in relation to climate change. Rok Tomšič, Head of the Department for Bilateral Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, underlined the important role of economic diplomacy in facilitating the entry of Slovenian companies into new markets.

State Secretary Gašper Dovžan attended the General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, with state secretaries and ministers for European affairs focusing on the preparations for the European Council on 24–25 March 2022.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar attended a regular Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels chaired by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. The main topics on the agenda were the Russian military aggression against Ukraine and the situation in Mali and the Sahel. EU foreign affairs and defence ministers sitting in a joint session approved the Strategic Compass.