In the last weeks of August, Alenka Smerkolj travelled to Switzerland and Slovenia for her first official visits as Secretary General of the Alpine Convention.
The introductory meeting in Switzerland started with an evening reception at the Liechtenstein embassy in Bern, hosted by Ambassador Dr. Doris Fritz and with the participation of 20 Swiss stakeholders with an interest in the Alpine Convention. The following day, a meeting with the Swiss delegation was scheduled and devoted to amongst others, the topic of “renewable Alps” and the current French presidency. The visit was concluded with a stop at the Swiss Alpine Museum, where the upcoming exhibition “Werkstatt Alpen” was presented and further joint PR opportunities were discussed.
In her home country, Alenka Smerkolj met with the Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning Simon Zajc as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs Miro Cerar, respectively. They discussed the preparations for the Slovenian presidency and exchanged on the aspect of the Convention as a living example of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Ms Smerkolj also met with the Slovenian delegation to the Permanent Committee to discuss the current issues.
On Tuesday, 27 August and Thursday, 29 August Ms Smerkolj visited the Infopoints of the Alpine Convention in Tolmin and Mojstrana, respectively. They discussed their activities connected to the Alpine Convention and the Secretary General stressed the importance of the Infopoints to bring the Convention closer to the Alpine people.