Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 370: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will confirm his plans to further improve relations with Slovenia. [20686/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Since Slovenia declared its independence from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991, Ireland has enjoyed excellent relations with Slovenia both bilaterally and, since May 2004, as fellow Member States of the European Union. In recent years, we have been making a special effort to deepen our relations with the new Member States, including Slovenia, and this will continue to be a priority for us.

As part of the Government's strategy of increasing Ireland's diplomatic network in the incoming Member States, a resident Embassy was opened in Ljubljana in October 2001. There have been a number of high-level visits in both directions including a State Visit by President McAleese to Slovenia in June 2001. I had the pleasure of visiting Ljubljana in April 2005 for discussions related to my role as a Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General. Ministers and senior officials from both countries meet regularly at Council meetings in Brussels.

Our two-way trade with Slovenia totalled €36.6 million in 2005. This is likely to grow in the coming years as the Slovenian economy reaps the benefits of EU membership. The scheduled entry of Slovenia to the eurozone on 1 January 2007 should also assist in this regard.