The international forum connected representatives of governments and international organisations, experts, business executives and civil society in order to better utilise the potential of international cooperation in beekeeping and pollination to achieve the sustainable development goals, in particular food security, ecosystem restoration, empowerment of vulnerable social groups and strengthening of international stability and peace.

In his address, the State Secretary, mag. Ervin Kosi, noted the importance of Slovenia as a beekeeping country: “I believe that we will continue to share Slovenian knowledge and experience with countries that need such help, especially among women and young people in rural areas. The latter are an important target demographic and key to the future of sustainable beekeeping. We must provide them with mentoring, educational programmes, and we must encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.” As with agriculture, modern technologies in beekeeping help beekeepers in their work: “Smart beehives, drones for monitoring bee forage and the use of sensors and the Internet of Things enable better management of beehives, monitoring of bee health and analysis of honey production.”

On the sidelines of the forum, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Mateja Čalušić also had a meeting with FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, during which he expressed satisfaction with the excellent cooperation. They talked about Slovenia's development cooperation in the promotion of beekeeping and further cooperation in the organisation of forums. There was also talk about Slovenia's upcoming presidency of the European Regional Group (ERG) and the objectives of the presidency. Minister Čalušić added that Slovenia is ready to actively participate in food security projects as part of the FAO. Slovenia will chair the ERG from 1 July to 31 December 2024. The meeting was also attended by the State Secretary, mag. Ervin Kosi.

The first day of the forum, 22 May 2024, is a conference day with two panel discussions on policies and good practices in pollination and beekeeping as drivers of sustainable development. It will be followed by four thematic sections, as part of which recommendations for the further functioning of the international community will be formulated. The forum is also an opportunity for in-depth dialogue and reflection. Recommendations for further integration and action will be created at the forum. Although the forum is global in its scope and reach, Africa will be the geographical focus of this year's edition.

As part of the international forum, a study trip will be organised tomorrow with a presentation of good practices in Slovenia, as part of which the participants will visit the Ljubljana Marshes Landscape Park and the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association.