The following is the text of a joint statement by the governments of Slovenia and the United States of America following the Third United States-Slovenia Strategic Dialogue held in Washington DC.
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The governments of Slovenia and the United States held the third US-Slovenia Strategic Dialogue in Washington on February 22. The annual series of strategic dialogues demonstrates the strength and importance of our bilateral relations and cooperation on a wide range of topics. We remain committed to the shared values that have sustained our partnership over the past three decades.
Secretary of State Samuel Žbogar and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman led the discussion. Representatives of the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the Government Information Security Office and the US Departments of State and Treasury participated. The strategic dialogue focused on global and regional security issues; multilateral cooperation and strengthening partnerships; economic, energy and climate cooperation; build resilience and combat misinformation; and cybersecurity.
On issues of global and regional security, Slovenia and the United States stand resolutely with Ukraine and its people. Together with our European and global allies, the United States and Slovenia support the efforts of the Ukrainian people to defend their country and their democracy against Russia’s brutal war of aggression. Together, we underlined NATO’s unity and solidarity and the importance of a strong deterrence and defense posture. We intend to work together to ensure a deserved advance in the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the Western Balkan countries who have worked hard to qualify. We also exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific region.
Regarding multilateral cooperation and strengthening partnerships, the two sides discussed their close and continued coordination on a number of regional and global issues in various multilateral fora. The United States welcomes Slovenia’s candidacy for the UN Security Council for the 2024-2025 term and believes that Slovenia is a highly qualified candidate who, if elected, would be a credible voice in contributing to the maintenance of international peace and security.
On economic, energy and climate cooperation, the two sides discussed the importance and opportunities of strengthening trade and investment ties, advancing energy security and collaborating to address global climate challenges. The United States continues to support efforts by European countries to diversify their energy sources away from Russia. The United States and Slovenia intend to continue to strengthen their civil nuclear cooperation under the auspices of the Memorandum of Understanding on Nuclear Cooperation that was signed during the inaugural Strategic Dialogue in 2020, including through visits to study, information sharing and expert exchanges. The United States is developing an international Smart and Integrated Ports Visitor Leadership Program specifically for Slovenia to expand cooperation between the ports and maritime agencies of our two countries. Slovenia also said the proposal to sign the Artemis Accords, a set of non-binding principles aimed at guiding the responsible exploration of outer space, was under consideration.
On building resilience and countering disinformation, Slovenia and the United States condemned Russia’s use of disinformation and other forms of malign influence. We reaffirmed our growing partnership in combating disinformation and discussed concrete ways to address this problem through a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach.
On cybersecurity, both sides recognized the importance of greater cooperation to respond to the proliferation of cyber threats and promote shared values and responsible state behavior in cyberspace. The United States welcomed a delegation of Slovenian cybersecurity experts to Washington to deepen understanding of our respective national systems and exchange best practices.
Slovenia and the United States have expressed strong interest in continuing to deepen their strategic partnership in the future. The next strategic dialogue will take place in Slovenia in 2024.
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