President Janez Drnovsek has decorated George Voinovich, a US senator of Slovenian-Serbian descent, for his merits in Slovenia's international affirmation and in the promotion of friendship between Slovenia and the United States.
Presenting him with a Golden Order at a ceremony at Brdo Mansion on Tuesday, Drnovsek described Voinovich as a "long-term friend of Slovenia...whom all Slovenian statesmen ever travelling to the US have met and with whom we have always had very cordial and open discussions".
According to a press release from his office, Drnovsek highlighted how Slovenia had benefited from Voinovich's advice on how the young country should act on the international scene, in particular in relation towards the US and NATO.
The president thanked the senator for the support in Slovenia's accession to NATO, as well as for his contributions to the promotion of its relations with the US, and with the Slovenian community in Ohio, the state Voinovich comes from.
Voinovich, who arrived for a two-day visit to Slovenia, has lobbied for Slovenia as a member of the Senate and as the mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, which is considered to be the capital of Slovenian expat community in the US.
He was one of the key promoters of NATO's expansion and Slovenia's membership of the alliance. The president's office in particular highlighted his role in the formation of the Slovenian-run International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF).
Voinovich, a moderate Republican who was born in Cleveland in 1936, today also met Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel and Defence Minister Karl Erjavec, both of whom thanked the senator for his support in Slovenia's bid to join NATO.
Developments in SE Europe, in particular Kosovo, topped the agenda of both meetings, while FM Rupel also briefed the senator on Slovenia's activity at the helm of the OSCE and on the situation in Kyrgyzstan.
The meeting with Defence Minister Erjavec focused on NATO peacekeeping operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan and the training of Iraqi security forces, with Voinovich thanking Slovenia for its contribution.
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