Following the agreement between Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on launching the Strategic Dialogue between the two countries, the inaugural session of the Dialogue was held today at the Department of State.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar is visiting Washington D.C. at the invitation of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The main purpose of the visit is further strengthening of relations between Slovenia and the US, historical friends, strategic partners and NATO allies.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar spoke in the general debate during the Special Session of the UN General Assembly on the COVID-19 pandemic. In his address, he stressed that the current health, economic and social crisis calls for a well-coordinated regional and global response.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar is today attending the international video-conference Rome MED 2020 – Mediterranean Dialogues, held this year under the title Heal and Rebuild: A Positive Agenda for the EU in the Enlarged Mediterranean. The Minister took part in a panel session with the foreign ministers of Italy, Portugal, Croatia, and Greece. In his address, he stressed the importance of partnership between the European Union and neighbouring countries in the field of migration as well as green and digital transition, transport, and energy.

Marko Rakovec, Acting Director-General of the Directorate for International Law and Protection of Interests at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and current chair of the Slovenian delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) participated in an online plenary meeting of the organisation. In his address, he underscored the attention Slovenia pays to raising awareness about the unacceptability of antisemitism and about the tragic events of the past, such as the Holocaust and the Porajmos.

State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Stanislav Raščan, took part in the opening session of the 27th OSCE Ministerial Council held via video teleconferencing. The event is hosted by the Albanian Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edi Rama, as OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, and will conclude on 4 December 2020.

The Director-General for EU Affairs, Barbara Sušnik, held bilateral consultations with David Cvach, Director-General for European Affairs at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Today, the final event of the development cooperation project “School and Peer Mediation in Bosnia and Herzegovina” took place virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Carried out in 2019–2020, the project involved primary schools from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Brčko District, and the Republika Srpska.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar took part in the second day of the regular meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, which was held via teleconference. Today’s meeting was mostly focused on exchanging views with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and the foreign ministers of Finland, Sweden, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, in particular, on the impact of China’s rise in the global community.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar took part in the regular two-day meeting of foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Alliance, organised via video-conference. The meeting primarily focused on the reflection process for strengthening the political dimension of the Alliance and on the NATO 2030 Expert Group’s Report.

At the invitation of the German Presidency, State Secretary Gašper Dovžan today attended a virtual informal meeting of ministers for European affairs. The members of the EU General Affairs Council discussed issues relating to the future of Europe and exchanged views on the possibilities of stepping up coordinated action against the COVID-19 pandemic. Ministers of the Western Balkans countries also joined the discussion.

Today, Slovenia's leading conference on innovation “Innovation Day” took place in a virtual format under the title “Symptoms of Creativity”. This year’s event was organised for the first time in partnership with the Creativeforum.si platform launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It brought together over a thousand participants from more than 50 countries, for a lively discussion on the pivotal role of creativity as an international societal driving force and the potential of cooperation between traditional industries and creative sectors. “Supporting creativity and innovation is one of the pillars of Slovenia’s foreign policy, and creativity will be one of Slovenia’s cross-sectoral priorities during its presidency of the Council of the EU”, stated State Secretary Stanislav Raščan in his opening speech.

The Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Icelandic foreign ministry, conducted a study entitled “Empowered diplomacy: bridging the gender gap” on equal opportunities of women and men in diplomacy. Its findings suggest that since 2009, the situation regarding the gender gap in higher positions in Slovenian diplomacy has largely improved. The aim of the project was to obtain up-to-date and transparent insights into gender equality and equal opportunities in diplomacy, and to subsequently identify and design the necessary measures for further improvement.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today held a video conference with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development Cooperation of Iceland, Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson. Minister Logar stressed the positive and friendly bilateral relations and expressed Slovenia’s interest in further deepening economic cooperation with Iceland.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar attended the virtual ministerial meeting of the Regional Forum within the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) as the main platform for fostering dialogue and cooperation in the region. In his address, Minister Logar spoke in favour of further strengthening the relations and cooperation within the UfM to increase security and stability and promote overall development in the Mediterranean.

Today, State Secretary Stanislav Raščan took part in a virtual meeting of Foreign Ministers of EU Member States and Southern Neighbourhood partner countries. Against the backdrop of the 25th anniversary of the Barcelona Process, the ministers exchanged views on the future of the EU-Southern Neighbourhood partnership.

On 24 November 2020, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar took part in the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum, which was organised by the Körber-Stiftung foundation in Berlin together with the German Foreign Ministry. The Forum was opened by the foreign ministers of the Trio Presidency of Germany, Portugal, and Slovenia.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan addressed the participants of today’s webinar on circular economy and challenges emerging during the pandemic, and briefly outlined Slovenia’s experience and cooperation with Latin American countries in this area. The webinar titled Circular Economy in the COVID-19 Era: Challenges and Opportunities is one of the introductory activities of the Latin American and Caribbean Days (LAC Days), an international conference planned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for spring 2021.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan addressed the participants of a virtual seminar on the life and work of Branislava Sušnik, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Paraguay and the Slovene Ethnographic Museum. The event was part of the introductory activities organised as a prelude to the Latin America and Caribbean Days international conference with the central event planned to take place in spring 2021.

On this day 25 years ago, a peace agreement was reached in Dayton. It represents an important milestone in the European history, bringing peace and stability to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The agreement was an important victory of diplomacy over war and brought an end to the conflict in the region and the dreadful atrocities suffered by the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Dayton Peace Agreement still guarantees sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.