The roots of friendship reflected today

H.E. Ms. Tanja Strniša, Ambassador of Slovenia with her husband Mr. Toni Strniša

Dear friends,

The roots of friendship and cooperation between Czechs and Slovenians go far back in history, as we lived as the same entity for many centuries – something which is reflected today in the close cooperation between the two countries in many fields. That is why serving my country in the Czech Republic was a real privilege for me.

Today, Slovenia and the Czech Republic are members of Euro-Atlantic integrations, successfully cooperating in regional alliances and sharing the same democratic values. Economic trade between the two countries is growing, and we are happy to see the increasing number of Czech tourists visiting Slovenia. But the cooperation extends to many other areas too, and I was happy to help promote very lively cultural exchanges at all levels, from amateur to cutting-edge arts, student exchanges, cooperation between Czech and Slovenian municipalities, and people-to-people contacts.

The work of the Embassy of Slovenia in my five-year mandate was marked by the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2021, and by the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU a year later. In 2022, we celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Slovenia and the Czech Republic. In the same year, the Embassy, together with local partners, organized several cultural events to commemorate 150 years of the birth of the outstanding Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik, who was entrusted to be Prague Castle’s main architect by the first Czechoslovak President Masaryk. Together with my husband Toni, who looked after the bees in the Embassy’s garden apiary, I was particularly proud of our bee diplomacy events to raise awareness for the global importance of pollinators for both the environment and food security.

Thanks to these events, the excellent cooperation between our two countries at the political and other levels has been particularly intense over the past few years. At this point, I would like to thank the Czech leaders and partners for all their valuable contributions in deepening bilateral cooperation.

I and my husband would also like to thank the Embassy’s staff for their assistance, and to the members of the diplomatic community in Prague for their friendship and support. Last but not least, we would like to thank the Czech and Slovak Leaders magazine for publishing the Embassy’s events, as well as for their appreciated support of our efforts.

Let me conclude with words from the almost two-centuries-old lyrics from Slovenia’s anthem – written by the famous Slovenian poet France Prešeren, he wrote a toast to the nations: “Who long to see, that all men free, no more shall foes, but neighbours be!” – let us do our utmost to make these thoughts a reality!

Dear friends, my husband and I are very grateful for the new experiences, connections, and friendships acquired in beautiful Czechia, which will remain in our hearts forever.

Česká republika zůstane navždy v našich srdcích.

Tanja Strniša, Ambassador of Slovenia to the Czech Republic August 2024