Minister Logar thanked Minister Czaputowicz for the assistance that Poland provided in the repatriation of Slovenian citizens during the pandemic. “Slovenia will always remember with gratitude this gesture that displays the solidarity and friendship between the two countries”, stated Minister Logar.

The counterparts were keen to stress the close economic ties between Slovenia and Poland, which are demonstrated, among others, by constant trade growth between the two countries, amounting to nearly EUR 2 billion. In this context, they brought to the fore the great potential of cooperating in construction of the transport infrastructure in Central Europe, which is one of the priorities of the Three Seas Initiative, colaunched precisely by Poland, while Slovenia has also been participating in it from the very beginning. Minister Logar drew attention to including the Port of Koper in the future Baltic–Adriatic Railway Corridor forming part of the planned pan-European transport network, which will provide a modern railway connection between the two countries.

Minister Logar voiced his satisfaction with Slovenia’s excellent cooperation with the Visegrad Group, which has been ongoing for a number of years. He expressed optimism that this collaboration will continue and even be enhanced in the future.

Next on the agenda were the priorities of Slovenia’s forthcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2021. Minister Logar outlined two main priority tasks of the presidency, i.e. the drafting of EU emergency response plans in the case of emergencies such as pandemics and enhancing the EU’s resilience to cyberattacks. He drew particular attention to Slovenia’s role within the Conference on the Future of Europe, which will take place during its presidency.

As part of the visit, Minister Logar also met with Poland’s Minister for European Affairs Konrad Szymánski, and presented the priorities of Slovenia’s Presidency, including the European perspective for the Western Balkans. The ministers expressed their support for EU enlargement and agreed that it is imperative that the two countries play an active role in the process and help create conditions favourable for achieving progress in the region.

The ministers also touched on the possible solutions to the migration issue Europe is facing. They share the opinion that while there are different ways to show solidarity in this situation, the issue needs to be tackled in cooperation with the countries of origin.