Slovenian President meets Indian Prime Minister

New Delhi, 4.2.2010  |  press release

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, today arrived on a working visit to India where he will attend the 10th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit. During his visit, President Türk will be accompanied by Professor Dr Luèka Kajfe¾ Bogataj, Head of the Centre for Agrometeorology at the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana.

As part of his visit to India, Dr Türk met the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, with whom he particularly discussed environmental issues and activities following the December climate summit in Copenhagen. The two emphasised the need for continuation of negotiations that could lead to a legally binding and balanced agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to be adopted by the time of the climate summit in Mexico City at the latest.

During their talks, Dr Türk and Dr Singh reviewed bilateral relations and agreed that a visit of a sizeable Slovenian political and business delegation to India, expected to take place in October or November this year, could contribute to the enhancement of political and economic co-operation between the two countries. Their discussions also touched on co-operation of Slovenia and India within the United Nations.

In the afternoon, Dr Danilo Türk gave a lecture at the Indian Council of World Affairs entitled "Peace, Stability and Prosperity in the Western Balkans". In his lecture, President Türk outlined the major reorganisations of state formations in the Western Balkans in the 20th century. According to the Slovenian President, the current reorganisation of this area will largely depend on how well and how fast the countries of the Western Balkans integrate into the European Union. He emphasised that the major task to be tackled by this region would be harmonisation with the EU economic and legal system, the latter also being of crucial importance for lasting stability, peace and prosperity.

One measure considered by Dr Türk to be highly important in achieving this objective is the liberalisation of the visa regimes between the European Union and the three countries of this region, namely Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro. Moreover, he called for visa liberalisation for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo in 2010. He warned of the danger of "enlargement fatigue" and explained that the integration of the entire Western Balkan region is in the strategic interest of the EU and the process should therefore be accelerated.

On Bosnia and Herzegovina, President Türk highlighted the need for changes in its constitutional order to match integration requirements to be supported by the international community. Referring to Macedonia, the Slovenian President said that the main obstacle to the integration process remains the country's dispute with Greece over Macedonia's constitutional name. He called for the resolution of this issue by combining UN mediation with direct political communication between the two countries in dispute. As regards Serbia, President Türk mentioned the progress in the country's co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; this progress, however, is being impeded by the failure to arrest General Ratko Mladiæ. Elaborating on the status of Kosovo, Dr Türk emphasised that the opinion of the tribunal would clarify the situation, adding that priority tasks include strengthening of the Kosovar institutions and improvement in the area of human rights and inter-ethnic relations.