Foreign Relations of Slovenia - Multilateral

Multilateral

• Slovenia is engaged with 29 countries in bilateral military exchange - most actively with the United States - and in regional cooperative arrangements in Central and Southeast Europe. Slovenia participates in five major multinational regional peacekeeping bodies;
• Together with Hungary and Italy, Slovenia formed a Multinational Land Force (the so-called Trilateral Brigade) in April 1998 with regional peacekeeping ability. Further non-military cooperation within the Trilateral includes the fields of transportation infrastructure, fighting money laundering and organized crime, WMD non-proliferation, border controls, and environmental protection;
• Slovenia is a member of Central European Nations Cooperation on Peacekeeping (CENCOOP), together with Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, and Switzerland. Within this organization, a combined infantry peacekeeping unit was formed March 1998;
• Slovenia has observer status, like the United States, in (the Turkish proposed) Multinational Peacekeeping Force Southeast European (MPFSEE), with other participants being Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania, and Turkey;
• Slovenia joined 13 other nations in forming the brigade-sized Standby High-Readiness Brigade (SHIRBRIG), headquartered in Copenhagen;
• From May to July 1997, Slovenia contributed to Operation ALBA in Albania with a 25-person medical unit, which was well received and commended by the Italian commander. Thereafter, it continued to support efforts to restore stability in Albania by participating in the WEU's Multinational Advisory Police Element (MAPE) helping to reconstitute and train Albanian police. The government has pledged to the Albanian Government its continuing support;
• Since November 1997, Slovenia has participated in its first United Nations peacekeeping operation, contributing 27 troops to an Austrian UNFICYP contingent on Cyprus. Slovenia also has peacekeepers with the UN at Naharya Ogl, Israel, on the Lebanese border.