ZAGREB, September 26, 2018 – Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić attended the official beginning of the 73rd session of the United Nations’ General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, and this year the session was dedicated to the UN role and its responsibility for peace, equal and sustainable societies, the Croatian ministry said in a press release on Wednesday.
The Croatian minister also attended a meeting focusing on the topic “Action for Peacekeeping” at the invitation of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
During her stay in New York, Pejčinović Burić attended the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit, held as a central event ahead of the formal opening of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly. The participants adopted a political declaration promoting conflict resolution, human rights and gender equality. The summit gathered numerous heads of state and government, ministers, high UN officials and representatives of civil society.
“Pejčinović Burić also met with Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo. The two officials discussed the development of bilateral relations, with emphasis on the planned cooperation in mine action and defence. In view of the upcoming ministerial meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean, Pejčinović Burić held talks with the organization’s Secretary General Nasser Kamel and exchanged opinions on topics regarding the development of the Mediterranean,” the ministry stated on its web site.
President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic met her Turkish counterpart Recep Tajip Erdogan on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday and their talks focused on bilateral relations and the situation in southeast Europe.
The Croatian president said that the talks also revolved around the forthcoming general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina and on how Bosnia and Herzegovina could be helped on its journey towards the European Union and NATO.
Before her talks with Erdogan, the Croatian head of state attended a dinner hosted by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. On that occasion she had an opportunity for conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on the current affairs. The two presidents are also due to hold a 15-minute meeting on Wednesday.
President Grabar Kitarović said on Tuesday that the problem of Agrokor had mostly been resolved, but that Russian banks that became Agrokor owners need to help put the ailing food conglomerate back on its feet. She discussed the situation in the biggest Croatian private company with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the fringes of the UN General Assembly in New York.
They also talked about the air pollution in the eastern Croatian town of Slavonski Brod and Grabar Kitarović said she would meet the leaders of the Russian oil company Zarubezhneft in Bosanski Brod, responsible for the environmental problem in the Croatian town on the other side of the Sava river.
The Croatian president said that preparations were underway for the visit of the Russian President Vladimir Putin to Croatia, adding however that she was unable to say when the visit could take place.
Grabar Kitarović and Lavrov also talked about the parliamentary elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina and agreed that representatives of the three constituent peoples should be elected according to the Dayton Agreement and Bosnian Constitutional Court verdicts.
