An international conference on the public administration challenges facing the Western Balkan countries held in Ljubljana concluded yesterday. The conference was organised by the ReSPA (Regional School of Public Administration) and hosted by the Slovenian Ministry of Public Administration. The participants were addressed by Slovenian Minister of Public Administration Rudi Medved.

Minister Dr Miro Cerar hosted Minister of Foreign and European Affairs and Minister of Immigration and Asylum of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn on an official visit to Slovenia today. The counterparts confirmed excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, based on common European values, the rule of law and similar views on current European and global issues.

For nearly 30 years, 1 October has been celebrated as the International Day of Older Persons. This year’s celebration is held under the theme ‘’The Journey to Age Equality’’ and is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 10. In Slovenia, numerous measures promoting employment of older workers and active and healthy ageing are supported by the European Social Fund (ESF).

An international conference on the public administration challenges facing the Western Balkan countries is taking place in Ljubljana these days. The conference is organized by ReSPA (Regional School of Public Administration), and this year is hosted by the Slovenian Ministry of Public Administration.

The United Nations General Assembly designated 1 October as International Day of Older Persons to highlight the frequently overlooked position of this population group in society. The Foreign Ministry is using this occasion to call for the elimination of age discrimination and for the establishment of effective international mechanisms for the protection of older persons.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Žiga Zois, a member of the Enlightenment movement, patron of arts and literature, natural scientist and economist. Two of the most important collections kept by Žiga Zois at his house in the Breg in Ljubljana were his collection of minerals and his library, which at the time was one of the richest and largest private libraries within a wider Slovenian territory. His library holdings were catalogued several times, and occasionally he compiled such catalogues himself. Some of the lists of his books are today kept also by the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia.

State Secretary Dobran Božič has received a business delegation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The visit in Slovenia of this first major government and business delegation in nineteen years will last until 3 October.

The 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, which concluded in Geneva today, saw the adoption of resolutions on the human rights situation in Venezuela and Sudan. Slovenia sponsored a resolution on a world programme on human rights education and training, foreseeing a multiannual focus on teaching young people about human rights.

In New York, Foreign Minister Miro Cerar hosted a breakfast for ministers and senior representatives of the Green Group. The group, established by Slovenia, gathers six small countries dedicated to promoting green policies and the transition to a green economy and the use of renewables: Slovenia, Singapore, Iceland, Costa Rica, the United Arab Emirates and Cabo Verde.

At the Paris conference to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), State Secretary Simona Leskovar underscored Slovenia’s determination to prevent discrimination.

Since Slovenia became an Associate Member of the European Space Agency (ESA) at the initiative of the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, led by Zdravko Počivalšek, activities in the field of space and space technology have increased significantly, and ESA has chosen Slovenia as the location for the training of astronauts for future missions.

Young people in Slovenia will be again protesting against the authorities doing nothing or too little to tackle the climate crisis and preserve the environment.

The Slovenian Prime Minister addressed the UN General Assembly at its 74th session, which is centred around the theme of Galvanising multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion.

A champion of preventive diplomacy and mediation, Slovenia has been a member of the Group of Friends of Mediation from its inception in 2010 at the initiative of Finland and Turkey. The group currently has fifty-eight members.

As a token of Slovenia’s advocacy of the rule of law, preventive diplomacy and multilateralism, Foreign Minister Dr Miro Cerar participated in three major events in areas where Slovenia plays an active and prominent role: an event in support of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a meeting of the Group of Friends of Mediation and an event in support of multilateralism.

On Wednesday, Slovenian Foreign Minister Miro Cerar took part in a conference on facilitating a nuclear test ban pursuant to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 1996, the Treaty has been signed by 184 countries; Slovenia signed the CTBT twenty years ago.

On the penultimate day of his attendance of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Šarec had a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

Foreign Minister Cerar is in New York attending the UN General Assembly session and various side events. During last night’s meeting organised by the EU, he held conversations with European Council President-designate Charles Michel, Vice-President of the Commission Frans Timmermans and Ireland’s Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Discussing the continuation of political dialogue with the new Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, they agreed to hold a bilateral meeting as soon as possible.

Prime Minister Marjan Šarec and Foreign Minister Dr Miro Cerar are participating in the 74th session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York. Minister of Health Aleš Šabeder, who was taking part in a high-level meeting on universal health coverage, joined them for the opening of the General Debate.

Slovenian Minister of Public Administration Rudi Medved received H.E. Prof. Dr. Vujica Lazović, the Ambassador of Montenegro to Slovenia. The cooperation between Slovenia and Montenegro has always been close and it will become even closer in the area of public administration with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in Ljubljana next week, Minister Rudi Medved and Ambassador Lazović stressed at the meeting.