Nina Stankovic

SPEECH – NINA STANKOVIC

First of all, let me thank you for the organization of this valuable conference and the invitation. 

At the time of my departure to this conference, Slovenia was amidst the peak of the second refugee inflow this autumn. The situation has not yet stabilized but it is under control. With the Hungarian border physically closed, Slovenia is now the only route for the desperate thousands who lost everything in Syria and Iraq.

This corridor that the refugee wave has naturally created should serve as a clear reminder to us that we are also at the core of any economic land route from East to West – something that we often fail to realize when dealing with our internal issues. Coming here and seeing the bigger picture is eye opening.

With an important, specialized port, one of the four big ports in the north of Adriatic Sea, we are firmly on the map of the waterway to the Western Europe. We need to do our part and upgrade the overdue railway connections to the inland.

Central and Eastern Europe as the strategically crucial region for the future of the EU, and especially for the relations between the East and West has perhaps lost some of the good cooperation spirit we nurtured before we all joined the EU in 2004. When it comes to the geostrategic issues, we are now more out of sync than even the proverbially disputed Western Balkan countries. Perhaps we need to find a new common goal. Perhaps the cooperation on the realization of the Silk Road and Belt is the right one!

I assure you I will do everything in my capacity to reaffirm in my party, the Pensioners’ party of Slovenia, a member of the governing coalition, the priorities dedicated to the relationships with the region of central Asia, Middle East and China. I am of course not authorized to speak on behalf of the government, but I am saying this as the representative of the party. We are planning to re-open the embassy in Iran. Others will follow. We cannot forget the existing diplomatic infrastructure of the EU, which we often neglect.

Our foreign policy should concentrate even more on trade and economic cooperation.

Today, you are more relevant to us than ever. We are more relevant to you than ever. More cooperation is needed, more trust building measures, better communication. I see this important gathering as an important step towards that.

Thank you,