Readout of the President and Vice President’s Meeting with Prime Minister Pahor of Slovenia

The Vice President met today with Slovene Prime Minister Borut Pahor as part of the Administration’s frequent consultations with our European allies on our shared agenda to promote peace, stability, and prosperity in Europe and beyond.  The Vice President expressed his appreciation for the Prime Minister’s leadership in the region of Southeastern Europe, and the two leaders discussed ways in which the United States and Europe could work together to advance the integration of all of Slovenia’s neighbors into Euro-Atlantic structures; in that context, the Vice President noted the United States’ and Slovenia’s shared interest in and support for Croatia’s European Union candidacy.  They also discussed trade and investment opportunities, and the Vice President welcomed the Prime Minister’s efforts to improve the investment climate in Slovenia.

The Vice President took the opportunity to wish the Prime Minister and all Slovenians congratulations on the occasion of the 20^th anniversary of the country’s independence later this year.

The President joined part of the meeting to acknowledge our strong bilateral relationship and to thank the Prime Minister for Slovenia’s strong support for the people of Afghanistan and its contributions to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).  The leaders also reviewed the current situation in Southeastern Europe.