PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRIME MINISTER OF SLOVENIA

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRIME MINISTER OF SLOVENIA

Slovenia, a new player on the international scene, was trying to become one of the new members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and of the Security Council, Prime Minister Hanez Drnovsek, told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

The press conference, launched by Assistant Secretary-General for Public Information Samir Sanbar, was also attended by Slovenia's State Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Physical Planning, Radovan Tavzes; a Public Relations Officer, Cabinet of the Prime Minister, Veronika Stabej; and the Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations, Danilo Türk.

The Prime Minister said that, apart from addressing the General Assembly's special session on Agenda 21, he had held bilateral talks with other world leaders on how his country could join the European Union when it was enlarged.

Only six years since its 1991 independence, Slovenia had established a sound economy, a stable democracy and become one of the success stories of a transition to a market economy, he said. Building its economy in a balanced manner, the country was transforming itself into a State that could compete globally. Slovenia was also helping to stabilize south-eastern Europe and would contribute further to the United Nations once it joined the Council.

In one brief, subsequent question-and-answer session, the Prime Minister was asked whether his country was ready to shoulder the additional responsibilities of Council membership. He responded that his country would address all the issues of concern to the United Nations. In preparing for such an undertaking, it had established its diplomatic credentials in the European theatre and other fields.

Asked to assess the likelihood of Slovenia's admission into NATO in the wake of his consultations with the leaders of Canada, Belgium and other NATO members, Mr. Drnovsek said his country's chances had been improved by those talks. Two weeks before the NATO Summit due in Madrid, a majority of its members supported Slovenia's inclusion. But the United States had expressed some reservations and would like to limit the number of States admitted into the organization in the first wave of enlargement. His meetings with leaders who supported Slovenia's candidacy had given him the impression that Slovenia could be admitted, perhaps, in a last-minute compromise. With scenarios existing for admitting either three or five members into NATO, Slovenia was regarded as the fourth-ranked candidate.

In response to a question on whether Slovenia had joined the United Nations specialized agencies, the Prime Minister answered in the affirmative. The Permanent Representative, Mr. Türk, added that his country was active in

Slovenia Press Conference - 2 - 24 June 1997

the International Labour Organization (ILO), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

On why Slovenia wanted to join the Security Council for 1998 and 1999, the Prime Minister said: "I think we have enough experience and enough capability to perform in this very important function." He added: "I think Slovenia, by its international position, could contribute to United Nations efforts in all different activities and endeavours in resolving the problems of the world. We are aware of the responsibilities, but we think that we are quite capable of facing them."

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