BILATERAL RELATIONS USA - SLOVENIA

The realization of this cooperation is assessed annually at the meetings of the bilateral work group, which had its most recent (fifth) session, on 20 October 1998 in Ljubljana. The American side particularly stressed its anticipation of an improvement in the Slovenian internal organization and an intensification of communication between both parties in all areas of cooperation. The area of defense policy and defense planning based on this policy as the fundamental basis for all decision-making, in particular that relating to further restructuring and adjusting of the Slovenian Armed Forces for operations within the framework of the Partnership for Peace and for the operations relating to the inclusion in the system of collective defense, was among the tasks whose execution will need, according to the American side, to be accelerated and in some respects also adjusted. Another issue related to this is that of the further development of Slovenian military education and training, including the additional training and education in foreign countries of a smaller number of specialized military staff.

The American side has noted progress in all of these areas. However, their expectations in respect of preliminary agreements and our forecasts were higher; similarly, their expectations were also higher in respect of our general endeavors towards inclusion in NATO.

The fifth session of the bilateral work group further strengthened the cooperation between the ministers of defense of both countries. Both sides have agreed to regularly continue the discussions on individual topics (for certain issues, special work sub-groups have been formed).

The C41 study, conducted by USAF and USEUCOM, has been successfully carried out in the Slovenian Armed Forces through combined efforts, and will be completed in the first half of this year.

The Joint Contact Team program continues to be carried out in Slovenia. Through this program, the US Department of Defense, together with the Colorado National Guard, is directing its future activities towards supporting the objectives of interoperability from the PARP cycle, and towards supporting the restructuring of the Slovenian Armed Forces. The first form of defense cooperation, the Joint Contact Team Program, was set up in 1992. Slovenia joined this program in November 1993.

Within the IMET program, 52 employees of the Slovenian Ministry of Defense had studied and been trained in the USA by the end of last year (of which, 6 officers received the highest types of US military training and education). For this year, 29 types of education and training are planned for 38 officers of the Slovenian Armed Forces. Activities in the area of Foreign Military Funding for the supply of equipment and language teaching are also being successfully carried out.

Within the Warsaw Initiative, the USA provides financial assistance to member countries of the Partnership for Peace (including Slovenia) for the implementation of the IMET program, which is directly intended for the purchase of training equipment and participation in peace operations.

From the 8th to the 25th of August 1995, one unit of the Slovenian Armed Forces took part in the collective military exercise "Cooperative Nugget", which included NATO members and signatory states of the Partnership for Peace, and which took place in the federal state of Louisiana.

The "Thunderbirds", an American military aircraft acrobatic group made an appearance on the occasion of the opening of the 26th World Parachute Championships in Cerklje on 29 June 1996.

Between the 25th and the 28th of May 1996, twenty officers of the Slovenian Armed Forces and their military equipment, participated in the "Combined Endeavor" Partnership for Peace (PfP) exercise, which took place at the former American Sembach Airbase in Germany.

From the 23rd to the 26th June 1997, the John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier was on display at Slovenia's Port of Koper; more than 11,500 people visited the carrier. On the last day of the visit a joint military exercise between members of the Slovenian Armed Forces and crew members from the JFK aircraft carrier took place. The theme of the exercise was the search and rescue of pilots.

Between 12 June and 4 July 1997, forty-two members of the Slovenian Armed Forces took part in the "Cooperative Nugget" PfP exercise, carried out at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk in Louisiana.

Agreements

Three agreements have been signed:

• Memorandum on Cooperation in the field of Defense and Military Relations between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Slovenia and the Defense Ministry of the United States of America (signed in Washington, D.C. on 10 March 1995);
• Security Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the United States of America (signed in Washington, D.C. on 8 May 1996);
• Charter on the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia in Relation to the Supply of S-Y71E Equipment and Services for the Protection of Communications (signed on 15 January 1997).

The following agreements are in preparation:

• The Basic Agreement on Exchange and Cooperation in the Areas of Cartography and Geodesy between the Cartographic Defense Agency at the Defense Ministry of the United States of America and the Civil Defense Administration of the Republic of Slovenia Ministry of Defense.
• Agreement on the Supply and Mutual Provision of Services between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Slovenia and the Department of Defense of the United States of America.
• Memorandum on the agreement between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Slovenia and the Department of Defense of the United States of America regarding the use of military ranges and training facilities in the Republic of Slovenia by the US Armed Forces.
• Agreement between the Republic of Slovenia and the USA on cooperation in the area of the restriction of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and on the promotion of cooperation in the area of defense.
• Agreement between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Slovenia and the Department of Defense of the USA on the Partnership for Peace Information Management System (PIMS).
• Memorandum on the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, as the Host Nation, on behalf of the Ministry of Defense/Headquarters and the US European Command in respect of the provision of logistical support to the military communications unit.

Source and more information: Ministry of Defense, Republic of Slovenia