Diplomatic Relations between
The Commonwealth of The Bahamas and
the Republic of Slovenia

September 17, 2004

The Permanent Mission of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to the United Nations is pleased to announce that on Friday, 10 September 2004, in New York City, H.E. Ms. Paulette A. Bethel. Ambassador/Permanent Representative of The Bahamas to the United Nations and H.E. Mr. Roman Kim, Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations, signed a Joint Communiqué establishing formal diplomatic relations between The Bahamas and Slovenia.

The Joint Communiqué, states that the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the Republic of  Slovenia, desirous of strengthening the relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, have decided to establish diplomatic relations at the Ambassadorial level, in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961, as of 14th January 2004­.

The communiqué emphasises the basic principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and international Law, particularly on equality among States, mutual respect for each other's sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of States.

A successor state of the former '"Yugoslavia", the Republic of Slovenia lies at the heart of Europe. Slovenia has a population of 2 million. The country proclaimed its constitution in December 1991 and its constitutional system is a parliamentary democracy. Slovenia acceded to membership of the European Union on 1 May 2004.  The establishment of formal relations with Slovenia is a part of the Bahamas Government’s long-term foreign policy fostering closer partnerships with like-minded countries in all corners of the globe. The Bahamas looks forward to closer collaboration with Slovenia, not only on a bilateral basis, but also in the United Nations and in other multilateral arena.