After two weeks of intensive negotiations between nearly 300 experts in public international law and international criminal law, the MLA Conference adopted the Ljubljana-Hague Convention, which will enable countries to cooperate internationally in the investigation and prosecution of the most serious international crimes. It is also the first major treaty in the field of international criminal law since the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The Minister of the Economy, Tourism, and Sports Matjaž Han, together with State Secretaries, mag. Dejan Židan and Vesna Humar from the Government Office for Slovenians Abroad, visited the Slovenian national community in the Porabje region in Hungary. He was briefed on the state of the economy in the Porabje region and presented the substantive and financial support of the Ministry of the Economy for the economic and tourism activities of Slovenians in the Porabje region. Within a month, the Ministry will publish two calls for tenders with a total value of EUR 1.168 million.

State Secretary Samuel Žbogar hosted Pablo Anselmo Tettamanti, Secretary of Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of the Argentine Republic, for bilateral political consultations. Their talks focused on strengthening political and economic cooperation between the two countries.

On behalf of the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, State Secretary mag. Dejan Židan participated for the first time in the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council meeting, of which the agenda for the first day includes content in the field of sports.

At the opening of the MLA diplomatic conference, Minister of Justice dr Dominika Švarc Pipan emphasised that states and the international community are responsible for establishing interstate mechanisms for the investigation and prosecution of international crimes, and drew attention to the protection of children in these proceedings. During the conference, representatives of the Ministry of Justice are to actively participate in the negotiation process.

In the spring forecast published today, the European Commission has enhanced the economic growth forecast for Slovenia. This year, it is expected to reach 1.2 per cent, and 2.2 per cent in 2024. The enhanced forecast is an encouraging signal; we are also pleased that currently there is no fear of a recession in Europe.

On 10 May 2023, Slovenia became a member of the Instruct-ERIC European Research Infrastructure Consortium by the Instruct-ERIC Council decision, and thus joined the fourteen existing members together with Greece. The membership enables researchers from Slovenia to participate in the entire portfolio of services, including the technology catalogue, internships, training programmes, and research and development funding.

After more than a decade of efforts by Slovenia, Argentina, Belgium, Mongolia, the Netherlands and Senegal, an international diplomatic conference has opened in Ljubljana to adopt the text of a convention on international cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of the most serious crimes. The Conference will run until 26 May. Upon adoption, the convention will be called the Ljubljana-Hague Convention.

Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar and his closest team hosted foreign ambassadors to Slovenia at the Ministry today.

Slovenia has made a significant contribution to the visibility of Slovenian beekeeping knowledge and to raising global awareness of the importance of bees by proclaiming World Bee Day.

On 10 and 11 May, State Secretary Samuel Žbogar visited Brasilia for political consultations with Ambassador Maria Laura da Rocha, Secretary General of Foreign Affairs of Brazil.

State Secretary Marko Štucin held consultations with Secretary General of Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jonatan Vseviov and Undersecretary for Political Affairs Kyllike Sillaste-Elling in Tallinn. In addition to bilateral relations, the talks focused on current issues at the EU and international levels, including the war in Ukraine.

Under the patronage of President of the Republic of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar, the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana has organised the 6th Biennial Academic Conference "Responsibility to Protect in Theory and Practice" in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs to mark the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the first conference of this kind in Slovenia.

A four-day international conference on cyber defence, organised jointly by the Ministry of Defence and NATO, concludes today, 11 May, at Ljubljana's Grand Plaza Hotel. It brings together 150 representatives from NATO Member States, European Union institutions and partner countries.

At today’s event on the Recovery and Resilience Plan – Implementation, New Circumstances and Amendments, which was hosted by the Ministry of Finance and the Recovery and Resilience Office, representatives of ministries presented the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the proposed amendments to interested stakeholders and the public. The event was also attended by the Minister of Finance Mr Klemen Boštjančič.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon held a series of meetings with representatives of UN regional groups and senior UN officials in New York from 8 to 10 May.

Slovenian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon attended a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Slovenia, Croatia and Austria in Rijeka. Together with the Croatian Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, Gordan Grlić Radman, who hosted the meeting, and the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg, they discussed the possibilities to deepen cooperation between the countries and common challenges.

At a ceremony held in the Radovljica Manor Baroque Hall on Saturday, 22 April 2023, Minister of Culture Dr Asta Vrečko presented the President of the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association Boštjan Noč with a certificate on the entry of beekeeping on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

As part of the new EU legislation to be adopted on the sustainable use of plant protection products, a European Commission delegation headed by Deputy Director-General for Health and Food Safety Claire Bury visited Slovenia at the invitation of Minister Irena Šinko.

Following the European Commission’s preliminary positive assessment of the first payment request for a grant from the Recovery and Resilience Facility in early March, Slovenia has today received a transfer of just under €50 million. “The relevant European institutions have positively assessed the fulfilment of all 12 milestones linked to the first instalment of the grant. The Ministry of Finance, together with the Recovery and Resilience Office, will continue to closely monitor the implementation of the plan and the achievement of the milestones and targets, which are a condition for the payment of the funds from Brussels,” emphasised Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič.