President Pahor's speech at the NATO Military Committee reception

The President of the Republic of Slovenia and the Commander in Chief of the Defense Forces Borut Pahor has attended the reception on the occasion of the meeting of the NATO Military Committee that takes place in Slovenia.

At the reception, President Pahor delievered a speech, which can be found below. The spoken word applies.


Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure and honour to address you, the most senior military leaders of the alliance, here in Ljubljana, in Slovenia, in the country on the sunny side of the Alps.

However, there were times when the sun did not shine on us so brightly.

Three times in the past century we have had to fight for our nation’s borders, for our nation’s survival and for our nation’s independence.

Three times we fought for ourselves.

But as of 2004 we can say we are not alone any more.

Since that time we have become a member of the greatest alliance in the world. An alliance that has proved its great value over the last 70 years.

An alliance where collective defence, cooperative security and crisis management are the basic pillars in the defence of our common values of democracy, rule of law and individual rights.

We as an alliance are determined to ensure that none of our countries will be subjected to an attack or threat, without eliciting a swift, collective and unanimous response.

This is the ultimate pledge that each of our countries makes to the alliance – an attack against one of us means an attack against us all.

There is a world around us that is changing at a speed our predecessors could not have envisaged.

We face challenges from the East, we are confronted with challenges from the South that take on many different forms, and we are still responsible for preserving stability in the South-East.

Adding to these geopolitical challenges are new forms of threats – both cyber and hybrid, facing us in space, in the Arctic, as well as challenging our vital, critical infrastructure.

How to prepare for these new challenges while maintaining our current missions and responsibilities is a demanding question.

No doubt many of these questions will be addressed in the following days here in Ljubljana.

As politicians we trust you to offer your honest and professional advice.

Advice on future capabilities and future concepts will enable us to manage the security challenges in the next decades.

We must maintain our technological edge and we must attract the most talented people.

To this end, our common endeavours are crucial, including the implementation of our pledge on defence investments.

Slovenia has been a member of the alliance for fifteen years.

We are proud to share the benefits and obligations within the alliance and we will continue to do so.

As commander-in-chief, I am proud of our military, its contribution to the alliance and its devotion to serve the nation as well as our common cause and values.

By being entrusted with the organisation of this conference, they are playing their part in our preparedness for the future.

I wish you all the best with your work and a pleasant stay in Slovenia.


Photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA