Israel opened its first embassy in Slovenia on Wednesday, signaling warming relations after populist Janez Janša formed a center-right government following elections in March.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar opened the embassy in a ceremony attended by his Slovenian counterpart, Tone Kajzer.
In a moving ceremony, together with my friend and colleague @TKajzer, the Foreign Minister of Slovenia, I inaugurated the Embassy of Israel in Slovenia just an hour ago.
This is the fifth new Israeli embassy within a year and a half.
We have friends in Europe and around the… pic.twitter.com/mNdBk7VbaO
— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) September 9, 2026
“This is the fifth new Israeli embassy within a year and a half,” Sa’ar noted in an X/Twitter post. “We have friends in Europe and around the world, and we must strengthen relations and cooperation with them.”
Slovenia’s Foreign Ministry marked the event as “an important milestone in relations between our two countries.”
“An embassy is more than a diplomatic mission,” it said. “It is a bridge between our countries, economies, institutions and people. We want today’s opening to mark the beginning of a period of greater dialogue, stronger cooperation and, above all, more tangible results for the benefit of our people.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that Slovenia’s new government and Prime Minister Janša “have demonstrated their friendship toward Israel through both words and actions, and have expressed support for Israel within the European Union.”
The rapprochement comes as Israel faces growing diplomatic isolation elsewhere, including import bans from Britain, France and Canada on products from Israeli settlements.
A turnaround for the first European country to recognize a Palestinian state
The embassy’s opening marks a sudden turnaround for Slovenia, a tiny Alpine country which is a member of the European Union and the NATO military alliance. Under the previous government of liberal Robert Golob, it was one of a few European countries to recognize a Palestinian state.
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.
Slovenia one of first EU countries to ban West Bank imports, PM Netanyahu
Slovenia was also among the first EU countries to ban imports from the West Bank and entry for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his two hardline ministers, decisions the new government quickly revoked.
Israel was among the first countries to recognize Slovenia’s independence, and the two established diplomatic relations in 1992. Slovenia opened an embassy in Israel in 1994, while Israel had been represented until then by a non-resident ambassador.
