I am pleased to offer my sincere congratulations on the 20th anniversary of Slovenia’s membership in the United Nations.
I am deeply grateful for Slovenia’s many contributions to our efforts for peace, development and human rights over the past two decades.
Slovenian troops have served with honour in a number of United Nations peacekeeping missions. Slovenia has held a seat on the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Human Rights Council. And in its own development efforts, Slovenia has made the impressive transition from donor-recipient country to the ranks of those that provide official development assistance.
This dynamic international engagement reflects the strong will of the Slovenian Government and people to support the United Nations in our global campaigns for peace, development and human rights.
As Secretary-General, I appreciate this commitment. As an individual, I have very warm memories of Slovenia from earlier in my career, when I was side-accredited to the country in the 1990s as the Republic of Korea’s Ambassador to Vienna.
After the winds of change swept the region following the fall of Communism,
I was deeply impressed by how the Slovenian people built their economy and steadied their young democracy.
This positive impression was reinforced when I visited again during my first term as Secretary-General of the United Nations. In my talks with leaders and meetings with citizens, I found a shared desire to contribute to the global common good.
I am confident that Slovenia will continue to play an important role in work of the United Nations, and that we can forge an even stronger partnership in pursuit of the future we want.