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Slovenia to close embassies in four EU countries

08 June 2012 00:56 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Slovenia will close its embassies in Sweden, Finland, Portugal and Ireland as part of its efforts to "reorganize the diplomatic network," said Foreign Minster Karl Erjavec on Thursday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

President Danilo Turk has signed decrees to implement the closures, said Erjavec, stressing that such action is "to reorganize the diplomatic network" rather than simply closing the embassies and saving money.

It was reported that the Slovenian Foreign Ministry expected to save some 1.8 million euros (2.27 million dollars) annually with the closure of some its unnecessary embassies abroad.

In addition to the four embassies, the Slovenian government also reportedly decided to close its general consulates in Dusseldorf, Germany, and New York, the United States.

Slovenia, which declared independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991, established current diplomatic network with an aim to facilitate the new-born country in joining the European Union and other international organizations, according to government officials.

For the moment, Slovenia plans to have a greater presence in other parts of the world, especially in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Central America. The making of a new foreign policy strategy is underway, Erjavec said.