FILE: Ljubljana, Slovenia - Feb 6, 2024 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Slovenian national flags

Beijing, China - April 20, 2024 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Grk, secretary general,  Bled Strategic Forum at Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Republic of Slovenia  (partially overlaid with shot 3):
"Our country is a small country. It's a country of two million people, so it's like three to four apartment buildings in Beijing. But while being small, can sometimes be a problem, but it can also be an advantage. The advantage being that our motives for a working global society are pure and honest. What we see right now in the global community is that a lot of global players are more or less confined in their own narrative, in their own framework of mind. And they are not trying to listen to the other side who may have differences, may have different views on challenges that we are facing."

++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: Ljubljana, Slovenia - Feb 6, 2024 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Street scene; pedestrians
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

FILE: Ljubljana, Slovenia - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Street scene; pedestrians

Beijing, China - April 20, 2024 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Grk, secretary general,  Bled Strategic Forum at Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Republic of Slovenia  (partially overlaid with shot 3):
"We shouldn't, and I think this is the most important thing and this is what Slovenia is bringing to the table, we shouldn't shy away from this, we should engage. And this is why also we are here in China, because we want to engage, we want to listen, we want to understand. And from this understanding, from this listening, you can come to the solutions, or at least, you can ask the real questions, because sometimes even the questions are not right. So what we bring to the table is our capacity to listen and our capacity to actually try to find compromises in order for the global community to move forward."

FILE: Ljubljana, Slovenia - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Various of pedestrians; people taking a rest by roadside

Despite limited global influence, small nations hold an honest desire to see a strong and cooperative international system that operates on the basis of listening and understanding, said a diplomat from Slovenia.

As the international landscape undergoes significant transformations, Peter Grk, Secretary General of the Bled Strategic Forum at Slovenia's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, offered insights on how smaller countries can effectively navigate the global stage.

He made the comments in an interview on the sidelines of a roundtable discussion themed "Navigating the Future: Strategic Imperatives for Global Resilience" held Saturday in Beijing co-organized by the Bled Strategic Forum and the Chinese think tank "Center for China and Globalization".

"Our country is a small country. It's a country of two million people, so it's like three to four apartment buildings in Beijing," he jested.

"But while being small, can sometimes be a problem, but it can also be an advantage. The advantage being that our motives for a working global society are pure and honest. What we see right now in the global community is that a lot of global players are more or less confined in their own narrative, in their own framework of mind. And they are not trying to listen to the other side who may have differences, may have different views on challenges that we are facing," he said.

"This is what Slovenia is bringing to the table, we shouldn't shy away from this, we should engage. And this is why also we are here in China, because we want to engage, we want to listen, we want to understand. And from this understanding, from this listening, you can come to the solutions, or at least, you can ask the real questions, because sometimes even the questions are not right. So what we bring to the table is our capacity to listen and our capacity to actually try to find compromises in order for the global community to move forward," added the diplomat.