Today, the Slovenian Government visited the Obalno-kraška (Coastal-Karst) region, which includes the municipalities of Ankaran, Divača, Hrpelje-Kozina, Izola, Komen, Koper, Piran and Sežana. The region's performance figures are good, especially with regard to the development indicators, which are above the Slovenian average. For other indicators, it stands out in terms of below-average youth unemployment and total unemployment, a high level of treated wastewater and a relatively low risk of natural disasters. The Obalno-kraška region is also the only one alongside Osrednjeslovenska (Central Slovenia), with an above-average GDP per capita and productivity.

State Secretary Kirbiš Rojs today met with the officials of the Municipality of Izola which acts as project partner of Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy in the strategic project EUSAIR Facility Point. She also visited Izolana, the House of the Sea, a product of cross-border cooperation between Slovenia and Croatia.

Under the Slovenian Presidency, a global conference is taking place today and tomorrow, which for the first time is discussing government governance in terms of innovation, drawing-up better legislation and improving the quality of the public sector. Slovenia, together with the OECD, presented for the first time the results of a survey on the ageing of the workforce and attracting and retaining talent.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan held a reception for Marjan Osvald, the newly elected Deputy Director General of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union, and Tomaž Kokot, General Manager Ad Interim of Pošta Slovenije.

Today, Prime Minister Janez Janša participated in the "Government Beyond Recovery: Towards a Future-fit Public Sector" international conference, where he took part in the "Shaping Innovative and Inclusive Governments" panel discussion. Other participants who addressed the audience during this discussion included: OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, EIPA Director-General Marco Ongaro and Slovenian Olympic medallist Petra Majdič.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Jože Podgoršek attended the Farm to Fork international conference via video conference. The event, which is taking place on 14 and 15 October, is organised by the European Commission. The two-day conference will be devoted to the wider aspects of the strategy and sustainable food systems, which include all stakeholders in the food chain.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today attended the regular meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg headed by Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. In their discussions, the ministers focused on the Gulf, the Eastern Partnership and the situation in Ethiopia and Nicaragua.

At today's 26th session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, Prime Minister Janez Janša answered parliamentary questions from deputies Bojana Muršič (SD), Luka Mesec (Levica), Alenka Bratušek (SAB) and Monika Gregorčič (SMC). The questions put to the Prime Minister addressed the increase in energy prices and other goods in Slovenia, tackling environmental challenges, the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, and methods of governance.

18 October is European Anti-Trafficking Day and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia would like to take this opportunity to raise awareness on trafficking in human beings.

In the field of anti-trafficking, Slovenia attaches great importance to international cooperation on the operational and the strategic levels, with special attention focused on the Western Balkans region. Over the years, the Slovenian Ministry of the Interior has been carrying out a number of regional activities, encouraging the countries in the region to align their legislation and standards with the acquis.

Minister Jože Podgoršek met by video conference with the representatives of Slovenian and EU environmental NGOs, such as BirdLife Slovenia (DOPPS), the Slovenian Foundation for Sustainable Development (Umanotera), BridLife international environmental organisation and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB). The discussion centred on how to include environmental protection in the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plans.

H. E. Sanja Štiglic, Slovenian Ambassador to the Netherlands, officially opened "The Future of Living" Exhibition of Contemporary Slovenian Design at Dutch Design Week 2021 in Eindhoven. The travelling exhibition ‘The Future of Living’ showcases Slovenian designs at 25 locations around the world, and Eindhoven has been chosen as one of its prominent stops. The exhibition, displayed at #DDW21 until 24 October, features 19 of the 90 selected products that have received the “Made in Slovenia" mark of design excellence in the last two years.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan welcomed a delegation of the Uzbekistani Anti-Corruption Agency, led by Akmal Burkhanov.

Due to filming, the archival reading room will be closed on Monday, October 18, between 11:15 a.m. and 1 p.m., and Wednesday, October 20, between 10 a.m. and noon. During these days, work in the reading room and the information room will be interrupted from time to time.
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The new issue of the News from Nuclear Slovenia is published.

As the current holder of the presidency of the Council of the EU, the Republic of Slovenia and the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats held an online workshop on instrumentalised migration as a hybrid threat, focusing on the case of Belarus. The workshop’s objective was to examine the phenomenon of instrumentalised migration as a hybrid threat, its impact on the security situation in the EU, and to highlight the aims of its key actors.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan held two separate working meetings with Janez Lenarčič, European Commissioner for Crisis Management, and Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships. Both discussions focused on the implementation of the Slovenian Presidency programme in the field of development cooperation and humanitarian aid, as well as current challenges, including the Afghanistan crisis.

Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs is participating as a panelist in a high-level conference marking the 10th anniversary of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). Key topics of discussion include the development of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) over the last decade and EASO’s role, the situation in the area of international protection in the EU, and the transformation of the Office into the EU Asylum Agency by the end of the year.

At today’s session, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia took note of the information on the issue of extraordinary growth in energy product prices on energy markets. In view of the current situation, Slovenia has called an extraordinary meeting of energy ministers for 26 October to find common solutions that will protect citizens against further price rises. The Government also issued a new regulation on the treatment of unaccompanied minors and adopted a decree on financial assistance to compensate for damage in beekeeping in 2021.

Today, Minister Dr Anže Logar addressed the students of the Diplomatic Academy with an introductory lecture. “Over the past year, Slovenian diplomacy has made major shifts in establishing Slovenia’s firm links with the environments sharing our values and interests,” he told the diplomats at home and abroad.

A two-day international expert conference has been held in Ljubljana on how to facilitate an equal relationship between players in the global market of audiovisual content providers. The development of new technologies and the outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic have led to significant changes in the production and distribution or accessibility of audiovisual works.