Slovenian President Attends Opening of Africa Week

Ljubljana, 20.5.2010  |  press release

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, and his wife Barbara Mikliè Türk today attended the opening of Africa Week, organised by the Africa Centre Society and Sloga, the Platform for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid. In his opening address, Dr Türk said that Africa is a large, beautiful and romantic, albeit tragic continent, full of hope for the future.

He emphasised that Slovenia has almost exclusively focused on European topics to date and has not paid adequate attention to Africa. President Türk stressed that Africa should be better understood above all in terms of its traditions, hopes, tragic experiences and possibilities.

The numerous tragic conflicts raging in Africa deserve full attention and the provision of humanitarian aid. He recalled that Slovenia has actively advocated within the European Union and the United Nations, efforts to stop the war in Sudan and to establish criminal justice in this war.

The Slovenian President emphasised that Africa is above all a region of hope and possibilities, a region composed of very diverse sub-regions, characterised by some common but also different problems. In Slovenia, we must spread knowledge of the various African regions, nations, customs and possibilities. He added that Slovenian companies were already formerly present in Africa, and that the current contacts do not suffice for providing appropriate information.

The Slovenian President said that his wife Barbara had lived in Sudan in her youth, where she went to school and met a lot of people. Her experience was of great advantage to him while he worked for the UN. She assisted him with advice on establishing good contacts and friendship with people from that part of Africa.