Today marks 100 years of the Carinthian plebiscite by which the southern part of Carinthia, together with the Slovenian population living there, was to become an integral part of the Republic of Austria. This anniversary opens up an opportunity for both nations to reflect upon the past and lift the historical burdens.

For the ninth time in a row the European Cooperation Day is commemorated by a series of events taking place throughout Europe. Today we presented the results and importance of cross-border cooperation projects in the cross-border area of Slovenian and Austrian Carinthia. We marked the 30th anniversary of Interreg programmes by planting two trees on each side of the border in the spirit of sustainability and integration. The event was attended also by State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs who underlined the importance of cross-border cooperation programmes.

At Brdo pri Kranju, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar hosted today the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of the Republic Austria Alexander Schallenberg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Tomáš Petříček and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic Ivan Korčok. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Péter Szijjárto excused his absence, as he was to attend the signature of the agreement on the normalisation of relations between Israel and UAE at the White House. The unofficial Central 5 initiative of foreign ministers was launched during the new coronavirus disease outbreak in spring to better coordinate containment measures. The third meeting reaffirmed the commitment of ministers to deepen the cooperation and ties among neighbouring countries and in the Central European region, including in other areas of common interest.

On Tuesday, 14 July 2020, the foreign ministers of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia met in Budapest. It was the second time they have held a meeting in this configuration of five Central European countries, informally called, on Slovenia's proposal, “the Central 5”. The first such meeting was held on 16 June 2020 in Vienna.

Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar attended a video conference of Foreign Ministers and State Secretaries from the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) participating states, where he outlined Slovenia’s views on the further development of institutional ties within the 3SI and closer cooperation process in the wider region of Central and Eastern Europe.

Today, Dr Marko Rakovec, Acting Director General of the Directorate for International Law and Protection of Interests at the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Slovenia, and Sigrid Berka, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the Republic of Slovenia, signed the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Federal Government of the Republic of Austria on new border documents for border sectors I to VII on the common border, prepared by the Permanent Slovenian-Austrian Border Commission.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Anže Logar hosted the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria, Alexander Schallenberg. Today’s was the first bilateral meeting between the ministers, while they already met in person on 16 June in Vienna at the multilateral meeting of foreign ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, which was hosted by Austria. During the Covid-19 pandemic, they held frequent telephone conversations, sometimes even several times per day, if necessary.

State Secretary Dobran Božič attended a meeting of the Slavkov format composed of Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in Bratislava today. For the first time, the Slovenian and Croatian state secretaries joined their counterparts in the Slavkov trilateral format for a meeting.

Today, 13 September 2019, the Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar hosted the Austrian Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Peschorn. The two ministers discussed internal border controls and migration.

On 12 July, the President of the Republic of Slovenia signed a decree on the appointment of Barbara Žvokelj as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary – Head of Permanent Representation of the Republic of Slovenia to the United Nations, OSCE and other International Organisations in Vienna.

State Secretary Dobran Božič attended the traditional meeting of the Quadrilaterale (Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Slovenia) at the level of deputy foreign ministers. This year's meeting took place between 4 and 5 July and was hosted by Austria. The participants exchanged views on cooperation within the Quadrilaterale and on current European and international issues.

Austria, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden attach the utmost importance to the preservation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), signed by Iran and unanimously endorsed by the UN Security Council, as a key instrument for the non-proliferation regime and a major contribution to stability in the region.