Bilateral meeting with H.E. Robert Golob, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia

Ljubljana - The FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, and Robert Golob, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, met in Ljubljana during the Director-General’s two-day visit in Slovenia, to discuss ways to further foster collaboration between FAO and Slovenia.

The Prime Minister thanked FAO for the technical support provided in organizing the International forum for action on sustainable beekeeping and pollination and thanked the Director-General for coming to Slovenia and showing his personal support to the Slovenia’s agenda in bee diplomacy. The Director-General stated that this Forum marks a historical achievement as the first ever Forum on Beekeeping. The Forum was held in conjunction with International Bee Day, which the Director-General was close to his heart as bees are very important for people, for the planet and for peace.

The Prime Minister briefed the Director-General on Slovenia’s commitment to food security.  He also informed that Slovenia was elected a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the term 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2025 and would preside over the UNSC in September 2024 during the regular session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA79). The Prime Minister further informed the Director-General that during its UNSC term, Slovenia was focusing on four priorities: conflict prevention; protection of populations in armed conflict; women, peace and security; and climate, peace and security. He further emphasized that his country was deeply concerned by the situation in conflict affected areas, like Gaza and Sudan, and would like to explore ways to collaborate with FAO on finding ways to help the people in need.

The Director-General stated that FAO would provide all the technical support needed, in line with our mandate. The Director-General conveyed his appreciation for the President and Prime Minister’s leadership and hoped that Slovenia would take advantage of its role as a Member of the Security Council to promote solidarity globally.  Both discussed the importance of designing humanitarian projects in a sustainable way for maximum impact.

During his visit to Slovenia, the Director-General also met with Her Excellency Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, and inaugurated two beehives at the garden of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Deputy Prime Minister informed that Slovenia had established a Bee Fund to help Slovenian Embassies abroad finance beehives at their premises and other bee projects around the world.

Both recalled their last meeting in February, when the idea of the International Forum on Beekeeping was first presented. The Deputy Prime Minister thanked FAO for the technical support provided to ensure the successful Forum.

The Director-General also met with Her Excellency Mateja Čalušić, Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Food during which the Minister emphasized the importance of hosting the first ever International Bee Forum for Slovenia as the Forum would serve, among others, as an important platform for knowledge transfer. She reiterated Slovenia’s commitments to cooperate with FAO to contribute to the reduction of hunger, as well as in reducing food waste.

Both discussed how to further boost the agricultural potential of Slovenia and exchanged ideas on developing circular agriculture in the country.