Ljubljana - The Defence Committee endorsed on Thursday a government report on participation of Slovenian troops in international missions and plans for the future. Committee members had no remarks.

Presenting the 30-page report drawn up by the foreign, defence and interior ministries, Foreign Ministry State Secretary Samuel Žbogar said Slovenia had last year been actively participating in tackling crises as part of the UN, EU, OSCE and NATO.

Last year, up to 350 Slovenian troops served in different missions abroad, which deputy director of the directorate for defence policy Aljoša Selan labelled as a "notable and significant contribution".

He said the operational focus of the Slovenian army remained on the Western Balkans - in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, where the government wishes to enhance military presence in the future - and on NATO's eastern flank, in Latvia.

After the February invasion of Ukraine the new mission in Slovakia was added to this.

According to Selan, the contribution of the Slovenian army to the two missions in the next two years will remain the same.

Slovenian troops are also serving in the Mediterranean, Sahel and in the Middle East.

Deputy chair of the Defence Committee, Jožef Lenart from the opposition Democrats (SDS), asked whether Slovenian soldiers serving abroad are content, safe and well equipped. Major General Roman Urbanč assured him they were as safe as they can be in the circumstances.

He said the equipment was "good and more than good" and was being evaluated and improved after every operation.

Committee member Anton Šturbej (also from the SDS) asked whether Slovenia was still the permanent treasurer of the financial fund for the Afghan National Army, given that the mission there had ended after the Taliban took power. Selan said Slovenia no longer contributed to this fund.

Šturbej also wanted to know whether Slovenia still has a representative at the UN who advocates for women and children in armed conflicts. Žbogar said Slovenia monitored the implementation of the UN resolution on this issue, participated in all discussions related to it, and always put this issue at the top of its agenda.