President Pahor attends the Crans Montana Forum in Geneva

President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor attended the Crans Montana Forum in Geneva today, 17 November 2022.

The theme of this year's Crans Montana Forum was "reinventing social, economic and security balance". The Forum included a plenary session and several thematic panel discussions in the search for answers to the current issues of international peace and security.

President Borut Pahor attended the plenary debate and spoke on a panel on food security, where he highlighted the current food crisis and presented Slovenia's actions to address it.

In the framework of his participation in the Forum, President Pahor will hold a number of talks with a view to securing support for Slovenia's candidacy as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period 2024-2025.

President Pahor is Co-Chair of the Honorary Board of the World Diplomatic Academy, starting in 2021. The World Diplomatic Academy, WDA, founded by Forum Crans Montana, has a 35-year tradition of working for peace and cooperation, conflict prevention and sustainable development. President Pahor received the appointment during a visit to Luxembourg at a special ceremony at the Ducal Palace, where his Co-President is Prince Jean de Nassau of Luxembourg.

Forum Crans Montana is an international non-governmental organisation founded in 1986. It is one of the leading international institutions dedicated to public-private cooperation. Its mission is to build a better world. It works closely with governments, specialised bodies, international and regional organisations such as the UN, UNESCO, UNIDO, FAO, the European Union, the European Commission, the Council of Europe, OFID and many NGOs. The Forum organises several events a year in different countries. Decision-makers from around 100 countries meet to discuss the political, social, economic and security challenges of our time.


Photo: UPRS



Speech by President Pahor in English (Spoken word applies.):

Mr Carteron, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am concerned by the increase in global food insecurity. Much of the global population currently face a cost-of –living crisis with serious implications for food security. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has aggravated the situation that was already fragile due to COVID pandemic. These unique circumstances require us to act decisively. We need to accelerate the holistic and sustainable transformation of agrifood systems.

I have participated in COP27. I expect the COP27 to reconfirm our common commitment to limit global warming to 1,5 C. We hope COP27 will reach a consensus on funding arrangements for loss and damage.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We cannot think about food security out of the context of climate change. Food security goes hand in with protection of environment. In food production, we need both – more efficient measures to prevent further global warming, and we need better adaptation to already existing change of climate. Food security is much linked with biodiversity. In couple of weeks, there will be a Biodiversity COP15.

I call for much more orchestrated efforts to halt a biodiversity loss, land to reverse the trend. Pollinators play one of the key roles in preserving biodiversity. World Bee Day, proclaimed on initiative of Slovenia from five years ago, highlights the importance of bees and other pollinators for global food security. Apart from awareness raising initiatives, such as the World Bee Day, Slovenia knows it has to be more solidary with other countries.

We also need to be more efficient at home – Slovenia is a green country, we have beautiful nature, plenty of fresh drinking water – we even inscribe a right to clean drinking water in our constitution. But we could and must do more; in particular on food waste, and better adaptation to more and more extreme weather conditions we face.

Global agenda always starts in our homes. One third of our primary schools have qualified for the status of eco-schools - the project we established already in 1996. This internationally recognised program integrates environmental education and training, with an aim to increase awareness of sustainable development among children. We stimulate primary school children to discover their local culinary traditions, learning about healthy meals from local food suppliers. We are pleased that in October this year our children had a chance to cook at FAO Headquarters during the World Food Forum.

Food systems are key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals. We are fully aware of the magnitude of the current food crisis. In the past three years, Slovenia has tripled its contribution to global food security. We support activities of the World Food Programme, FAO and humanitarian NGOs in Yemen, Afghanistan, Sahel, Horn of Africa and Uganda. Additional increases are planned for 2023 and 2024.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

None of the global challenges we face, can be solved by individual countries alone. We need more cooperation, and we need effective multilateralism. Slovenia is a candidate for a non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council, 2024/25. We will listen to everyone, and co-create a better and safer world.