President of the Republic of Slovenia discusses global challenges of the future

Jerusalem, 14.5.2008  |  press release

As part of the Presidential Conference ‘Facing Tomorrow’ being held in Jerusalem, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, yesterday attended the plenary meeting of the Presidents, where he addressed the conference participants.

In his speech, the Slovenian President said that Jerusalem was a place of both ancient civilisation and great modernity, of deep thought and political complexity. This is what makes it a challenging venue for a discussion on the future of the world. He then recalled the reflections of the late Israeli statesman, Abba Eban, who had once said that although mankind would never agree on the most important moral issues, the countries nevertheless quite often develop common interests based on prudence and reciprocal advantage. President Türk observed that the idea could be extended and these two basic principles of action supplemented with a third – pragmatic choice. He explained that the European Union has succeeded in uniting formerly divided and belligerent European nations by relying on precisely these three principles. Dr Türk emphasised that this experience could also work in other parts of the world, provided, however, that the parties involved were ready to put together their resources, think prudently and make pragmatic choices based on the idea of reciprocal advantage. He added that the Middle East has sufficient resources and vast needs for cooperation but lacks only the vision and political will which might facilitate prudent and pragmatic decisions.

The Slovenian President went on to quote another statesman, the host of the Presidential Conference, namely the President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres. After the end of the Cold War era, Mr Peres became known for his statement that global security was no longer threatened by enemies but by dangers. The Slovenian President shared this thought too and added that contemporary dangers such as global warming and environmental degradation or organised crime and terrorism should be addressed with an adequate mix of sophisticated policies. Terrorism cannot be defeated by military means, let alone military means only, said Mr Türk, and explained that that fight against this phenomenon requires more sophisticated policies including those offering alternatives to people who might otherwise turn to terrorist action as a result of their humiliation and dispair. Global warming requires a high degree of awareness that the looming danger is closer than we think and that global cooperation is more needed than ever before, said the Slovenian President. He then expressed the hope that, in its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the European Union would also succeed in mobilising other partners across the world.

He further pointed out that the issue of global warming called for awareness of the importance of global cooperation, requiring strong global institutions. The Slovenian President advocated that the United Nations should be given more power and influence with a view to securing world peace and introducing global negotiations in various areas. Dr Türk noted that this issue was particularly appropriate for the discussion at the Presidential Conference ‘Facing Tomorrow’ considering that the conference was being held on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. Israel indeed owes its existence to the decisions adopted by the United Nations 61 years ago. The President also pointed out that the terms of the UN decisions had still not been fully implemented, the Palestinian state still needs to be created to live side by side with the state of Israel. Dr Türk concluded with the thought that the very long time which has passed since the basic decisions creates a strong sense of urgency today and, at the same time, teaches us that sometimes "tomorrow" takes a long time to come.