President concludes official visit to Slovakia

Bratislava, Banská Bystrica, 13.4.2012  |  press release

On the second day of his official visit to the Slovak Republic, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Danilo Türk, took part in the Bratislava Global Security Forum GLOBSEC 2012. He was a speaker at the panel session entitled "The Future of Europe and Transatlantic Cooperation" together with the President of the Slovak Republic, Ivan Gaıparoviè and the President of the Republic of Croatia, Ivo Josipoviĉ.

In his address, President Türk touched upon certain key issues concerning international peace and security. He advocated the idea that the creators of international security policy should consider the global framework and key priorities. He pointed out that global security greatly depends upon the quality of cooperation between the Euro-Atlantic alliances and the Russian Federation, adding that, under the current rapidly changing situation, it is necessary to ensure a satisfactory level of transatlantic cooperation and suitable partnership among the United States of America, the European Union and the Russian Federation.

According to President Türk, the most urgent priority goals are the construction of integrated missile defence systems and putting in place a good system of coordination for addressing crisis situations. In this regard, he brought up the situation in Syria and the importance of the UN Security Council backing Kofi Annan's peace plan. He added that this level of support must also be maintained in the future, as we may expect that difficulties will arise in the implementation of this peace plan.

The Slovenian president also touched upon the current tasks being addressed within the European Union, most of which deal with the economic and financial sphere, but he stressed that it is necessary to always keep in mind that the European Union is also a political power with security tasks. He continued to discuss the future tasks of the EU: among the short-term tasks to be addressed, he emphasised the need to ensure fiscal stability with the aim of providing new impetus to development, and among the long-term tasks the need for the European Union to enhance participation in its institutions.

The President of the Slovak Republic, Ivan Gaıparoviè and the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Danilo Türk later visited the town of Banská Bystrica, where they met with the Mayor, Peter Gogola. The presidents laid wraths at the memorial dedicated to the Slovak national uprising and visited the museum dedicated to this important period in Slovakia's history.