Hundreds of companies have taken part.
An agreement on cooperation between the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and the Moscow Chamber of Commerce was signed at the Russian-Croatian Economic Forum, which was held on Thursday in Moscow and marked the beginning of a new era of economic relations between Croatia and Russia, according to the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, reports Jutarnji List on October 20, 2017.
“This visit turns a new page in relations between our two countries,” said Luka Burilović, president of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, quoting Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev during a previously held meeting between him and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who is on a three-day visit to Russia.
Burilović added that the growth of Croatian exports to Russia in the first seven months of this year was 10 percent compared to the same period last year, which is a good indicator of stabilisation of business relations after the EU’s sanctions against Russia were introduced. The relationship will be further improved by the signed agreement.
The president of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce pointed out that the Chamber recognised the importance of the Russian Federation’s market and opened a branch office in Moscow in 2010, which played a significant role in the conclusion of contracts between numerous Croatian and Russian companies.
The forum was also attended by Croatian President Grabar-Kitarović. “President Putin and I have reached an agreement on which direction we want to develop our bilateral relations. The signed agreements will create preconditions for our economic cooperation to improve,” added the President. She pointed out that her arrival at the economic forum confirmed Croatia’s strong desire for closer economic ties between Croatia and Russia, which this year celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The President said that mutual investments had reached nearly half a billion euros and that the most promising areas were energy and tourism in Croatia and the automotive industry in Russia.
President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergey Katirin said that economic cooperation would return to pre-crisis levels by the end of this year. In recent years, Croatia has mostly exported medicines, chemical products, machinery and equipment, electrical transformers and ships to Russia. Some of the most active Croatian companies with regards to cooperation with the Russian Federation are ADG Plastik, Podravka, JGL, Atlantic Group, Končar and Sardina, announced the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.
Translated from Jutarnji List.
