As a new government was appointed in Slovenia in mid-March, on 10 June the Secretary General Alenka Smerkolj paid a visit to the new minister of environment and spatial planning, mag. Andrej Vizjak, whose portfolio also includes the Alpine Convention. She introduced to him the work and structure of different working bodies of the Alpine Convention as well as the Permanent Secretariat, updated him on the current developments regarding the French presidency, which also included the invitation to the upcoming XIV Alpine Conference in December in Nice, and the new challenges occuring due to the coronavirus. An interesting discussion on different topics and issues regarding the Convention as well as the Sustainable Development Goals followed and from it came also some initial ideas for the upcoming Slovenian presidency in the period 2023-2024, for which the delegation is already slowly starting to prepare for.
The minister also invited the Secretary General to the Alpine Convention Days, a traditional event, prepared each year by the Slovenian delegation, which will this year take place on 4-5 December at the Mojstrana Infopoint on the topic of soil.