Slovenian opposition leader makes Taiwan office pledge

Taipei, March 18 (CNA) Visiting former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša said Tuesday that he would oversee the exchange of representatives with Taiwan if his Slovenian Democratic Party regains power.

In an interview with CNA on the sidelines of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, Janša said his earlier attempts to establish reciprocal offices in Taipei and Ljubljana while serving as prime minister in 2022 were unsuccessful because he led a minority government.

But Janša said this would be done "very quickly" if his party were to win an outright majority in Slovenia's 2026 parliamentary elections.

"By then, we can establish [Slovenia-Taiwan] relations at the same level as our partners in Central Europe," he added.

Janša, who helped found the Taiwan-Slovenia Friendship Association in the 1990s, also proposed enhancing bilateral sports and cultural exchanges.

Janša described the appointment of National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (NTSO) Director Liu Suan-yung (劉玄詠) to head Taiwan's representative office in Vienna, which also handles exchanges with Slovenia, as a "good choice."

The former Slovenian prime minister said that he and Liu had met previously and discussed a wide range of potential cultural cooperation opportunities.

The 2025 Yushan Forum was held on Monday and Tuesday in Taipei under the theme of "New Southbound Policy+: Taiwan, the Indo-Pacific, and a New World."

The annual forum aims to include more like-minded partners in discussions on how Taiwan is taking advantage of smart, digital and innovative solutions to promote the so-called "Digital New Southbound Policy," according to organizers.