Bilateral Talks of the President on the Margins of the Regional Summit Forum of Heads of State of South-East Europe

Cetinje, 4.6.2009  |  press release

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, held several bilateral meetings on the margins of the Eighth Regional Summit Forum of Heads of State of South-East Europe. He and the President of the Council of Europe, Terry Davis, mostly discussed the Slovenian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, and the Ljubljana Process on efforts to restore cultural heritage in the countries of South Eastern Europe.

Dr Türk and the President of the Republic of Croatia, Stjepan Mesiæ, addressed issues concerning the relationships between Slovenia and Croatia and stressed the need for reasonable political rhetoric, which would bring about a peaceful atmosphere enabling progress towards a good solution on the open issue of borders. President Türk stressed that the Republic of Slovenia believes in the progress and eventual success of the process led by the European Commission and Commissioner Olli Rehn. "The activities led by Commissioner Rehn are the only action relevant for the resolution of the national border issue, and must be the focus of all attention. Any other steps at this time would not be productive and are not desirable," stressed Dr Türk.

He and his host, the President of Montenegro, Filip Vujanoviæ, talked about co-operation between Montenegro and Slovenia in the development of Montenegrin tourism. The Slovenian Minister of Culture, Majda ©irca, invited the Montenegrin Minister of Culture, Sports and Media, Branislav Miæunoviæ, to the November international conference on the Ljubljana Process; in general, the two countries will continue to discuss different forms of co-operation in the field of culture. President Filip Vujanoviæ expressed his wish for prompt adoption of the Agreement on Social Insurance between the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Montenegro. He thanked President Türk for his support and assistance in Montenegro’s efforts to join the Euro-Atlantic structures.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, presented to Dr Türk the preparations for the World Conference on Higher Education 2009, to be held in early July, at which President Türk will make the opening speech. They talked about European higher education and about whether Europe does enough for the mobility of teachers in higher education. Mr Matsuura acquainted Dr Türk with the fact that he would propose restoration of agreements on mutual recognition of higher education in October. President Türk stressed the importance of quality assurance in higher education and of the balance between different disciplines.

The President of Slovenia also met with the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Neboj¹a Radmanoviæ, to discuss relations between the countries, which they assessed as good.Danilo Türk stressed the importance of quality assurance in higher education and the balance of different academic fields. President Radovanoviæ requested support for visa liberalisation with regards to the European Union, since Bosnia and Herzegovina had met all required conditions. In addition, they discussed the current good economic co-operation, the Ljubljana Process and the strengthening of contacts between the countries in the field of artistic creativity. Minister ©irca also invited the representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the November international conference on the Ljubljana Process.