SLOVENIA: 2009 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000387 SIPDIS NCTC AND S/CT:RHONDA SHORE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER ASEC SI SUBJECT: SLOVENIA: 2009 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM REF: STATE 109980 ¶1. Per reftel instructions, the following is Post's contribution to the 2009 Country Reports on Terrorism. ¶2. Slovenia is generally assessed as a low-threat country with outstanding cooperation on regional counterterrorism efforts. There were no reported terrorist incidents in Slovenia in 2009. The Government of Slovenia actively participated throughout 2009 in multilateral terrorism efforts, including the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT). As a member of the Schengen zone and the Visa Waiver Program (VWP),Slovenia continued to comply with Schengen and VWP requirements for border security, passport and visa safeguards, information sharing and other law enforcement and counterterrorism cooperation. ¶3. The Office for Defense Cooperation (ODC) facilitated counterterrorism training for officials from various Slovene ministries, which included regional conferences and Marshall Center seminars. In fall 2009, Slovenia's Ministry of Defense announced that it would host a regional counterterrorism conference in March 2010 as a follow-up to the September 2008 conference. Slovenia contributed 81 troops to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, including 15 sent specifically for security during the August 2009 presidential elections. Slovenia also provided 380 troops to the NATO mission in Kosovo, and additional troop support to UN, NATO, and EU missions in Bosnia, Somalia, Chad, Lebanon, and Syria. ¶4. Political officer Evan Haglund (haglundet@state.gov) is the embassy point of contact for counterterrorism issues. FREDEN