 On the third day of his visit to New York, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, attended the opening of the general debate of the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly. On the margins of the session, Dr Türk held bilateral meetings with the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Dr Jacques Diouf, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Dr Sali Berisha, the President of the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Dr Ali Abdussalam Treki, and the President of the Palestinian National Authority and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Mahmoud Abbas. In the evening, Dr Türk, and his wife, Barbara Mikliè Türk, attended the reception for heads of delegations and their partners, hosted by the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, and his wife, Michelle Obama. |
 Dr Diouf and Dr Türk focused on the World Summit on Food Security, taking place from 16 to 18 November 2009 in Rome. Mr Diouf took the opportunity to again invite Dr Türk to attend the summit. |
 President Türk then met Prime Minister Berisha. Dr Berisha, who proposed the meeting, expressed Albania's interest further assistance from Slovenia in the country’s rapprochement with the European Union and the comprehensive development of economic co-operation. In his words, Albania is currently experiencing 5% economic growth and wishes to see Slovenian investment in hydroelectricity, infrastructure (especially roads), trade and banking, in particular. |
 Dr Türk and Dr Treki discussed the agenda of the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in particular the issues of climate change, the world economic situation and reform of the United Nations. Dr Treki said that he intended to consult the members of the United Nations on reform of the organisation. President Türk also highlighted the issue of peacekeeping operations, advocating practical solutions to improve logistics and the system of control. Dr Türk and Dr Treki shared the view that political consensus on the aforementioned reforms had already been achieved and that the situation in this area could therefore soon improve. |
 President Abbas outlined to Dr Türk the outcome of recent talks held between President Barack Obama of the United States and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. Efforts have been made to relaunch the Middle East peace process, central to which is an attempt to deal with all key outstanding issues in one package and to reach agreement on a final settlement. These key issues include the border issue, the status of Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees and access to water. The Palestinian authorities are insisting on a halt to the building of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and on the borders of 1967 as the basis for negotiations on a final settlement. In this regard, Dr Türk assessed that the talks would require well-co-ordinated efforts on the part of the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations. Slovenia was particularly active on this issue during its EU Council Presidency, and Dr Türk said that the time had come for the European Union to define more clearly its policy on this issue and to raise its political profile in this respect. The two also discussed the continuation of humanitarian activities for rehabilitation of disabled children from the Gaza Strip, a project initiated by Dr Türk. There are still many children in the Gaza Strip who suffered severe injuries and disability during the military conflict at the end of last year, and the Institute for Rehabilitation of the Republic of Slovenia is well placed to help these children with medical rehabilitation and with getting their lives back to normal. |