Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon and her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan have signed an agreement on strategic partnership between their countries that is valid until 2026. The two countries first signed such an agreement in 2011.

Addressing the press with Fidan in Ljubljana on 30 august, Fajon said that the strategic partnership agreement confirmed the very good relations between Slovenia and Turkey and set the course for their future development.

"The activities between the two countries are strengthening, especially in business. We can see that our trade in goods is growing, and Turkish companies are also increasingly present on the Slovenian market," she said.

Intensive cooperation between the two countries is also taking place in culture, science and digital education, and there is also mutual interest in cooperation in the protection and preservation of cultural heritage, according to Fajon.

Fidan welcomed the agreement and highlighted the existing good cooperation between the countries and companies, such as in the construction of the Koper-Divača railway or the Karavanke border motorway tunnel, both of which involve Turkish companies.

Slovenia exported €454 million worth of goods to Turkey in 2023 and imported €905 million worth of merchandise. With €1.36 billion in the total volume of bilateral goods trade, Turkey placed 18th among Slovenia's most important trading partners.

In the first half of this year, bilateral merchandise trade totalled €854 million of which €231 million were Slovenia's exports, according to data published on the website of the SPIRIT agency.

Turkey remains a key EU partner and a candidate for membership, Fajon underlined, and expressed her satisfaction that Fidan attended the latest informal meeting of EU foreign ministers. Slovenia supports the establishment of a mutually beneficial customs union between the EU and Turkey and the adoption of visa facilitation measures, she said.

Fidan described the meeting of ministers as very productive, adding that they exchanged opinions on the relationship between Turkey and the EU institutions and the possibilities to strengthen the cooperation.

Regarding a potential Turkey accession to the EU, Fidan said that political will would have to exist in both Brussels and Ankara.

Discussing current global issues, Fajon and Fidan agreed for Turkey and Slovenia to continue to work for an end to the Gaza war and a two-state solution. "Slovenia is making every diplomatic effort to get more countries to recognise Palestine," Fajon said.

The Israeli government is playing with fire, said Fidan. "It is endangering the future of the entire region and its country to maintain its own positions," he added.

The two ministers also discussed the upcoming peace summit on Ukraine, agreeing that it would be a failure if Russia did not attend and if the countries of the Global South did not support it.

Fidan believes the cooperation between Slovenia and Turkey is also important in the context of the Western Balkans.