By Lee Jon-young

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in New York for the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held a summit with Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar on the afternoon of September 21.

During the meeting, President Yoon requested Slovenia's support for the 2030 Busan World Expo and exchanged views on ways to develop bilateral relations.

The two leaders noted that South Korea and Slovenia have been actively communicating, with the summit coming on the heels of three foreign ministerial meetings this year, and hoped to use the meeting as an opportunity to further revitalize high-level exchanges between the two countries.

President Yoon expressed his hope that competitive Korean companies will be able to participate in the construction of new nuclear power plants planned by Slovenia. President Yoon also expressed his desire to further expand bilateral port and logistics cooperation after the city of Koper, Slovenia, which is a major gateway for Korean companies to enter Central and Eastern Europe, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Busan, Korea, in May. 

In response, President Pirc Musar expressed her hope that the two sides will work together to strengthen practical cooperation in all fields.

President Yoon expressed his appreciation for the joint appointment of Korea and Slovenia to the Security Council as non-permanent members for the 2024-25 term in June, and looked forward to further enhancing bilateral cooperation in the international arena. 

President Pirc Musar said that the joint election of Slovenia and South Korea to the non-permanent seats of the Security Council is a good opportunity to expand cooperation, and she hopes to strengthen cooperation in areas of common interest.

On the occasion of the meeting, the two leaders agreed to further enhance bilateral exchanges and continue to identify cooperative projects that benefit both economies.