The first meeting of the Steering Committee of the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C), launched by the Republic of Slovenia together with the French Republic and Montenegro in 2022, will take place in Paris on 21–22 March.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which proclaims that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. That is why, on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we issue a call for tolerance, respect and an end to hate speech. This is the only way we can move forward as a society.

Prime Minister Robert Golob and Minister of Finance Klemen Boštjančič held a regular meeting with the Governor and Vice-Governor of the Bank of Slovenia Boštjan Vasle and Primož Dolenc.

The focus of the working meeting between the two ministers, who were joined by the Mayors of Nova Gorica and Gorizia Samo Turel and Rodolfo Ziberna, was on the preparations for the European Capital of Culture with the slogan GO! BORDERLESS.

Marjan Šarec, Minister of Defence, attended a joint meeting of foreign and defence ministers of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union in Brussels.

Minister Tanja Fajon attended a regular meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. The main themes were the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and Tunisia. The event was followed by a joint meeting of foreign and defence ministers on EU assistance to Ukraine and the implementation of the Strategic Compass. The ministers also adopted conclusions on Afghanistan and EU priorities in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Tehran will be closed during Persian New Year holidays (Nowrooz) from 21 March to 23 March.

The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Athens, in cooperation with the Municipality of Piraeus and the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus, organised on 16 March 2023 a Slovenian-Greek music evening at the foyer of the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus. The Slovenian and Greek enthusiasts of classical music, members of the diplomatic community as well as members of the Slovenian community in Greece enjoyed a beautiful music evening with the duo Basili-Kosovinc, the Greek cellist Cristina Basili and the Slovenian guitarist and composer Timotej Kosovinc.

Prime Minister Robert Golob and Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Robert Tajani have pledged ever closer cooperation between the two governments on migration, energy and joint efforts in the Western Balkans.

In an effort to raise the level of communication, promote respectful dialogue and eliminate hate speech, Prime Minister Robert Golob established the Strategic Council for the Prevention of Hate Speech, which held its inaugural meeting today.

With 332 million, the United States of America presents an important market with many opportunities for the Slovenian economy and tourism. It can take several years for companies to successfully penetrate the US market, and Slovenia as a country can open doors through increased promotion.

State Secretary Marko Štucin today hosted the Polish Minister for the EU, Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk in Ljubljana. In addition to bilateral relations, the talks focused on topical European and international issues.

The Government has adopted a basis for the preparation of a proposal for amendments to the Recovery and Resilience Plan to address the reduction in available funding and the objectives of the REPowerEU plan to reduce dependence on Russian energy. It will be followed by coordination with the European Commission and other stakeholders and the preparation of a proposal to adapt the plan.

At an extraordinary session of the National Assembly, Tanja Fajon, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, presented the reasons for the rejection of the resolution that would classify Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. She reiterated Slovenia’s strong support for Ukraine and emphasised that, instead of creating division and separation, all efforts should be directed towards ending Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Priority Area Coordinators (PAC) of the EU Strategy for the Danube region (EUSDR) met in Maribor. At the meeting, there were 12 EUSDR thematic teams from 14 countries of the region, representatives of the Danube Region Programme, the European Commission, the Danube Youth Council (DYC) and the secretariat of the EUSDR, the Danube Strategy Point. The event was organised by Slovenian EUSDR Presidency with the support of the Danube Strategy Point and the University of Maribor.

At today's regular session, the Government took note of the starting points, priorities and dynamics of the negotiations with the representative trade unions of the public sector. It also adopted the starting points for the adjustment of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and decided to make available EUR 50 million in SID Bank’s loans to companies affected by the energy crisis.

State Secretary for the Establishment of Dialogue with Civil Society and Coordination of Citizens’ Initiatives Maksimiljana Polak and Head of the Office of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Dejan Süč met with representatives of the Society for the Protection of Horses and Other Animals and other representatives of animal advocates.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon met with representatives of the Slovenian national minority in Italy to exchange information and views on current issues relating to the minority, ahead of the visit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Italian Republic, Antonio Tajani, to Slovenia on Friday, 17 March. The meeting was also attended by Minister for Slovenians Abroad Matej Arčon.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon handed over two Ljubljana Passenger Transport buses, which the Municipality of Ljubljana donated to Ukraine, to the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Slovenia, Andriy Taran. “Today we continue our assistance to Ukraine, this time, too, supporting the most vulnerable in the war – children and young people –, so that they can get to school more safely in these difficult circumstances.”

In an effort to adopt balanced and sustainable systemic measures, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Robert Golob, established the Strategic Council for Macroeconomic Issues, which held its inaugural meeting today.