ZAGREB, January 25, 2019 – On the first day of the World Economic Forum meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković had a number of meetings with executives of global companies operating or interested in operating in Croatia.
Among them were the CEOs of DAMAC Group, Hoffmann-La Roche, Antofagasta Minerals and Marriott International, the vice-president of Coca-Cola, Google’s president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the vice-president of Mastercard.
“At a forum like this, many global companies seek contact with leaders to see how they can help their companies to establish a presence in their country,” Plenković told Croatian reporters.
He said that Google had shown interest in digitisation in Croatia, Coca-Cola wanted to make its contribution to social responsibility and Mastercard was interested in financial services. He said that the Marriott hotel chain was interested in establishing a presence in Croatia.
Plenković in particular singled out the pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche, which has made it possible for 12 Croatian citizens suffering from spinal muscular atrophy to receive free treatment in Croatia during the clinical testing of its drug. “This was the result of last year’s Davos, and now we are expanding the cooperation with them,” he added.
Asked if last year’s meetings with business executives in Davos had been productive, Plenković cited the example of Booking.com, saying that “it is doing an excellent job helping the Croatian tourist industry.”
Talks with the Lukšić Group were also excellent last year. In addition to their presence in the tourism sector, they have also provided an excellent training programme for civil servants and the digitisation of public services, with emphasis on the healthcare system, he said.
On Thursday evening, the Croatian prime minister was due to meet with the Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Angel Gurria, and for the first time with the leader of the German CDU party and possible future Chancellor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Plenković recalled that last year in Davos he had a number of meetings with prime ministers, adding that this year he wanted to hear first-hand what the Irish prime minister thought of Brexit.
The World Economic Forum has brought together political and business leaders from more than 100 countries, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. However, the leaders of the United States, France, the United Kingdom and China are not among the 3,000 participants.
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