NEWS

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, today attended the second part of the ASEM Summit which was devoted to the discussion of global challenges, social and cultural cooperation, regional issues and ASEM's future orientation. The heads of delegations focused on security and sustainable energy supply, climate changes, prevention of global warming, eradication of poverty and illiteracy and other issues faced by the European and Asian partners.

During the morning discussion on global challenges, Prime Minister Janša spoke about the importance of the efforts for a world without genocide and other mass atrocities as well as about the ASEM countries' responsibility for world peace. "Despite economic, political, legal and technological advances, we are, unfortunately, still witnessing mass atrocities, such as those in Syria," said the Prime Minister. Considering the initiative to strengthen the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which he officially presented at the last UN General Assembly session in New York, he called for the strengthening of preventive capacities of the UN, the member states and organisations. Prime Minister Janša welcomed the fact that the ASEM member countries which ratified this Convention will adopt a joint declaration stressing the need for its full implementation. He called on the heads of delegations of the participating ASEM member countries to work together in order to find solutions for improved cooperation on national, regional and wider international levels. "We need to ensure a safer world for ourselves and for future generations, " he concluded.

On the margins of ASEM Summit, the Prime Minister met the leaders of some Asian countries. Prime Minister Janša and the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, discussed the economic and financial situation of the EU and the ASEAN Member States. The two Prime Ministers agreed that Slovenia and Malaysia have a large potential for strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries, which is currently limited, in particular, to transport and logistics. Prime Minister Janša also met the Prime Minster of Thailand, Yingluck Shinwatra. They agreed on the need to strengthen the relations between Slovenia and Thailand, in particular with regard to the strengthening of the legal framework for economic and other forms of cooperation. The same conclusion was also reached in the Prime Minister's discussion with the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Tang Dung. Prime Minister Janša and his counterparts also agreed to exchange visits of their business delegations and visits at the highest political level.

Many other informal discussions held by Prime Minister Janša with his Asian counterparts focused particularly on the economic crisis that Asian counties experienced fifteen years ago. The Asian countries successfully dealt with the crisis and, owing to the effective restrictions on public expenditure, prompt assistance to the banking sector and appropriate measures aimed at reviving economic growth, today they generally achieve good economic results.

At the close of the 9th ASEM Summit, the participating countries adopted the Vientiane Declaration on Strengthening Partnership for Peace and Development and the Statement of the Chair of the 9th ASEM Summit that resumed the key substantive messages of this summit. The concrete contribution of the Slovenian delegation to the 9th ASEM Summit was the inclusion of a reference into the Statement of the Chair, which emphasises the need for a full implementation of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.