President Drnovšek and the speaker of the Canadian Parliament on cooperation after Slovenia joins EU
Ljubljana, 01/29/2004 | press release
President Drnovšek today met the speaker of the Canadian parliament, Dan Hays, who is in Slovenia at the invitation of the president of the Slovenian parliament. The two statesmen emphasised the traditionally friendly relations between their two countries, and agreed that there remain opportunities to strengthen cooperation, particularly in the economic sphere. Slovenia’s entry to the European Union will offer further opportunities for cooperation and strengthen Canada’s interest in deepening already well-developed mutual relations.
The Canadian delegation presented the situation in their country under the new administration, led by Paul Martin since December. Mr Hays and his delegation were interested in the situation in South-Eastern Europe. President Drnovšek said that Slovenia wanted the countries of that region to be offered a realistic prospect of joining the EU and Nato and went on to emphasise the international community’s significant role in the region.
President Drnovšek closed by thanking Canada for its support for Slovenia's inclusion in the Nato alliance. He added that Slovenia expected its Nato membership to lead to closer security and defence cooperation and expressed his satisfaction at the cooperation now underway between Canadian and Slovenian armed forces in Afghanistan, where Slovenian troops are operating under Canadian command.