JAKARTA, 2 April 2026 – A newly-appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to ASEAN, H.E. Smiljana Knez, today presented her Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat, marking the assumption of her post as the non-resident Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to ASEAN, based in Manila, the Philippines.
Secretary-General Dr. Kao congratulated Ambassador Knez on her new role and reaffirmed the ASEAN Secretariat’s readiness to work closely with her and the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Manila to further strengthen cooperation between ASEAN and Slovenia. He encouraged Slovenia to continue deepening existing cooperation and to explore untapped opportunities with ASEAN in areas of mutual interest, including in artificial intelligence (AI), logistics, pharmaceuticals, tourism as well as people-to-people and business-to-business linkages.
Ambassador Knez highlighted that the opening of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Manila, in March 2025, as its first diplomatic mission in the region, and its request to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), reflect Slovenia’s commitment to strengthening its political ties and deepening cooperation with ASEAN in key areas, such as trade, green transition, digital economy, and connectivity.
Slovenia appointed its first non-resident Ambassador to ASEAN in 2011. Ambassador Knez succeeded Ambassador Marko Ham, who was previously based in Canberra and concluded his tenure in December 2025.