Croatian President on official visit to Slovakia.
The strengthening of political relations with Slovakia, in particular in the framework of the Visegrad Group and the Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea initiative, whose importance is often stressed by Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović who is in an official visit to Bratislava, opens additional possibilities for cooperation between the two countries, reports Poslovni.hr on December 9, 2015.
Slovakia is an important market for Croatian exporters, who are continuously achieving growth of sales to that country. Interestingly, furniture is the main product which Croatian companies sell to Slovakia. As much as half of all exports to Slovakia this year are from the furniture segment. The opportunity for business discussions during the Slovak-Croatian Economic Forum will have about 20 companies, including many of those who are already successfully operating in Slovakia, from AD Plastik, which cooperates with companies in the automotive industry, which is the basis of Slovak economy, to Janaf, which started supplying Slovak refineries after the crisis in Ukraine began.
Among the companies whose representatives have travelled to Slovakia are Belje, Ina Maziva, safety equipment manufacturer Altpro and representatives of the Port of Vukovar and the Port of Rijeka. During a recent visit of a Slovak delegation to Croatia, the potential for further cooperation was highlighted in the sectors of energy and transport, especially with regards to the Port of Rijeka, as well as for supplying gas through the future LNG terminal on the island of Krk.
“Exports to Slovakia in the last four years have grown more than 100 percent and we see great potential for our economy. Despite the growth in exports, Croatia still has a large deficit in trade with Slovakia. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage even greater exports, especially in the areas of energy and infrastructure, since Slovak market clearly welcomes Croatian products and services”, Luka Burilović, president of the Croatian Chamber of Economy who is leading the economic team, said before the visit. In 2010, Croatia exported to Slovakia goods worth 70.4 million euros, while last year exports reached 152 million euros.
