Slovenia bucks trend, welcomes Israeli embassy

Israel will open its first embassy in Slovenia on Wednesday in a sign of warming relations after populist Janez Jansa formed a centre-right government following elections in March.

The rapprochement comes as Israel faces growing diplomatic isolation elsewhere over its policy in the West Bank including import bans from Britain, France and Canada on products from Israeli settlements.

"Since taking office, Prime Minister Jansa and his new government in Slovenia have demonstrated their friendship toward Israel through both words and actions, and have expressed support for Israel within the European Union," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. 

The move is not universally popular in Slovenia. 

Protests were scheduled against the opening of the embassy on Wednesday evening by student movements, a left-wing political opposition party and pro-Palestinian groups.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was due to arrive in Slovenia on Wednesday for a two-day visit during which he will meet his Slovenian counterpart Tone Kajzer and sign a memorandum on cultural cooperation. He will also lead a delegation of Israeli businessmen aiming to strengthen economic cooperation.

It marks a sudden turnaround for Slovenia, a tiny Alpine country which is a European Union and NATO military alliance member. Under the previous government of liberal Robert Golob, it was one of a few European countries to recognise a Palestinian state.

Slovenia was also among the first EU countries that banned imports from the West Bank and entry for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his two hardline ministers, decisions that were quickly revoked by the new government.

Israel was among the first countries to recognise Slovenia’s independence and diplomatic relations were established in 1992. Slovenia opened an embassy in Israel in 1994, while Israel had until now been represented by a non-resident ambassador.