Solidarity, cooperation and connectivity between countries strengthen sustainable development and security
The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, attended the 8th Leader’s Meeting of the Three Seas Initiative at the invitation of the President of Romania, Klaus Werner Iohannis. The President of the Republic participated in the leaders’ plenary session, where she emphasized the importance of solidarity, strengthening cooperation and connectivity between countries for sustainable development and security. On the margins of the summit, she spoke with several heads of state.
Bucharest, Romania, 6 Sep 2023
News
The President of the Republic began her address at the plenary session by thanking the high representatives of the countries that helped Slovenia after the floods that affected two thirds of the country. "You proved that solidarity is not an empty word. Solidarity connects the countries of this region," she thanked them and expressed her condolences to the Greek president in light of the catastrophic floods that Greece is facing these days. "Together, we can do more and build faster and more effectively," she said, emphasizing that strategic infrastructure connectivity of Member States is vital for the economic efficiency of our countries and is also the answer to the challenges brought on by the altered geopolitical reality following Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
President Pirc Musar extended a special welcome to Greece as a new full member of the Three Seas Initiative and also welcomed Moldova’s request for deeper involvement in the activities of the Initiative, and for all their hard work in reform processes on their path to joining the EU. At the same time, she urged the leaders not to overlook the countries of the Western Balkans.
"Western Balkans countries are moving towards the European Union, and this process must include reforms, as well as the improvement of road, railway, energy, digital and other forms of connectivity among the citizens and political leaders,” she said and presented the Brdo-Brioni Process Leaders’ Meeting, which will take place in Skopje next week.
At the plenary session, the President of the Republic also highlighted the investment potential of participating countries in the initiative, especially in the field of innovation and digital transformation for the sustainable management of nature and natural resources and for improving the connectivity between people and countries.
The Three Seas Initiative is a forum of 12 member states of the European Union, which are geographically located in Central and Eastern Europe between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas - i.e. Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. This year, Greece joined the initiative as a full member, while the permanent partners of the initiative are the USA, Germany and the European Commission. Ukraine has a special status.
The Three Seas Summit was a good opportunity to meet with heads of state and other high-level participants. Among others, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, Estonian President Alar Karis, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Hungarian President Katalin Novák, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová and US President's Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry took part in the meeting.
The President of the Republic has had a bilateral meeting with the President of the Republic of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, and then she attended the official dinner in honour of the distinguished guests, hosted by the Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis.
President Pirc Musar and President Rinkēvičs confirmed the friendly relations between the two countries, which cooperate well within the framework of the EU and the NATO alliance. They agreed that there are still many opportunities to strengthen cooperation, especially economic, which would be improved by better connectivity in the form of the announced direct airline connection and, above all, the planned opening of the Slovenian embassy in Riga. President Pirc Musar thanked the Latvian president for the help after the floods.
