Slovenian foreign minister visits Warsaw
23.07.2020
Cooperation within the EU and NATO, European prospects of the Western Balkans, the development of the Three Seas Initiative, and economic relations were on the agenda of today’s talks between Minister Jacek Czaputowicz and his Slovenian counterpart Anže Logar.
“We look forward to joint initiatives with the new Slovenian government, initiatives which have already taken place in the context of negotiations of the new Multiannual Financial Framework and the Reconstruction Fund,” said the chief of Polish diplomacy.
Minister Jacek Czaputowicz expressed satisfaction with the successful development of bilateral relations, stressing that their dynamic, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, is growing in both the political and economic spheres. The diplomats discussed economic and investment relations, including in infrastructure. The past five years have been a period of systematic growth in trade between the two countries, and Poland is interested in further expanding this economic cooperation. Minister Czaputowicz noted that the COVID-19-related crisis has had a relatively little negative impact on the Polish economy and that the mechanisms introduced by the Polish government offer a chance for a quick return to the state before the epidemic.
Also discussed were the most important current issues concerning the presence of Warsaw and Ljubljana in the European Union and NATO. Minister Czaputowicz said that he hopes to work closely with the new Slovenian government in the context of the Slovenian presidency of the EU Council beginning on 1 July 2021. The two foreign ministers confirmed their similar views on international security.
The talks, furthermore, covered the activities of Warsaw and Ljubljana as part of regional cooperation formats. The Polish foreign minister presented the priorities of Poland’s presidency of the Visegrad Group and stressed Poland’s commitment to supporting the Western Balkans on their path to European integration. The diplomats agreed about the need for a possibly quickest EU enlargement and start of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. The talks also raised the Three Seas Initiative. “I am glad that Poland and Slovenia share their positions on the further development of the Initiative and its importance for our region,” concluded the head of the Polish MFA.
MFA Press Office
Fot. Tymon Markowski / MFA
