Forty-one children from Ukraine and 30 from Belarus, who arrived on their week-long holiday last Wednesday, were visited by Foreign Ministry State Secretary Božo Cerar on Monday.

The children suffer from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster-related respiratory and skin problems as well as motor skills problems.

"Many do not know that the Chernobyl disaster affected also the neighbouring Belarus," said Red Cross secretary general Danijel Starman.

While children from Ukraine have been coming to Debeli rtič since 2005, a relevant agreement with Belarus was signed in 2011, the ministry said in a press release.

So far 335 children aged 6 to 14 from Ukraine have taken part in various rehabilitation programmes at the Youth Health and Holiday Centre Debeli rtič, said Starman.

Cerar said as he visited the centre that this was merely one of many projects supported by Slovenia. "The care for children, their well-doing and their rights is one of the mainstays of our foreign policy," he said.

Cerar also mentioned some other projects for children carried out as part of the ministry's international development aid, such as a schools in Sri Lanka and Haiti.

Although Slovenia is present through its humanitarian projects around the workld, its focus in on the nearby Western Balkans and Eastern Europe. "Indeed, the Chernobyl disaster hasn't been forgotten in Slovenia," Cerar said.

The centre, operated by the Red Cross of Slovenia, is known for the treatment of respiratory and skin problems.

Apart from getting professional medical care, patients can enjoy the beneficial effects of sea water and Mediterranean climate.