The UK's new ambassador to Slovenia, Victoria Jane Harrison, listed cooperation in defence and security and the Western Balkans as some of the priorities she would like to focus on as she presented her credentials to President Nataša Pirc Musar on 13 August.

Harrison, who succeeds Tiffany Sadler, is the UK's first blind ambassador and is accompanied by a guide dog, her labrador golden retriever cross named Otto.

She stressed that Slovenia and the UK have a strong relationship and there are many areas in which it can be further upgraded.

In line with the priorities of the UK's new Foreign Secretary David Lammy, "the areas I would be very keen to focus on would be defence and security cooperation, whether bilaterally or as partners within NATO, working together more closely on climate change and energy security, and supporting economic growth," she said.

The ambassador, who was previously posted in Sarajevo, also listed the Western Balkans as her personal interest. She shares Slovenia's view that "the Euro-Atlantic path is the best long-term path for the security of that region". She would like to work with Slovenia to achieve that.

The UK's new Ambassador Victoria Jane Harrison (left), accompanied by her guide dog, presents credentials to President Nataša Pirc Musar. Photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA

The new ambassador speaks Slovenian and she spoke the local language as presented her credentials and addressed the media.

She pointed out that the UK and Slovenia are Olympic champions in climbing. "Above all, we both share values such as equality and inclusion, which are very important to me personally," she said, adding that she looked forward to continuing to build on the strong ties between the two countries.

"My guide dog Otto is also delighted to be here, as he is the first guide dog to accompany a British ambassador anywhere in the world," the new ambassador said. "We look forward to visiting all parts of the country together."

She studied Slovenian at the University of Nottingham and for 14 months at the Foreign Office and also spent a few weeks in Maribor in June. She hopes to have many opportunities to speak Slovenian, a language she finds beautiful but a bit difficult.

The new German Ambassador Sylvia Ursula Katja Groneick (left) presents her credentials to President Nataša Pirc Musar. Photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA

President Pirc Musar also received credentials from the new German Ambassador Sylvia Ursula Katja Groneick. She succeeds Natalie Kauther, who has served as ambassador in Ljubljana since August 2020

Ambassador Groneick will strive primarily to strengthen cooperation between Slovenia and Germany in climate change mitigation, EU enlargement and cultural exchange.

"Germany and Slovenia are close and trustworthy partners in economy, politics and European affairs. I want to further deepen the German-Slovenian friendship and our common commitment to a strong Europe," Groneick was quoted as saying by the German Embassy.

Together with Slovenia, the new German ambassador intends to advocate for the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU.

Groneick has had a rich career at the German Federal Foreign Office after graduating in Islamic studies. She was the head of the group for the German candidacy for the UN Security Council, participated in chemical and biological weapon disarmament for several years and was a member of a task force for human rights.

She has also been employed at the German embassies in Rabat and Warsaw, and most recently she headed the department for international cultural relations at the Federal Foreign Office.