Croatian President is in an official visit to Great Britain.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II received today at Buckingham Palace in London Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović at the start of her first official visit to the United Kingdom, reports Večernji List on October 11, 2016.
The meeting took place seven months after a two-day visit to Croatia by Charles, Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in March. That visit did not have a political dimension, but was focused on strengthening connections between the two countries and their citizens.
This afternoon President Grabar-Kitarović will also meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May at Downing Street. They will discuss bilateral relations between the two countries. Prime Minister May is talking this week with her counterparts from other European countries about preparations for Brexit.
The President will also separately meet with British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and Lord Speaker of the House of Lords Norman Fowler. She will also hold a lecture at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
British Ambassador to Croatia Andrew Dalgleish said that the President’s visit to London “confirmed the importance which the United Kingdom attaches to its relations with Croatia”. “Great Britain and Croatia now cooperate in a number of areas – from defence and security to tourism, culture, education and global issues. But there are always areas where we can do more. This visit is a great opportunity to emphasize that”, said Ambassador Dalgleish.
The President will conclude her visit to the United Kingdom on Wednesday when she will meet with Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark and have a working lunch with representatives of banks and investment institutions. In the afternoon, she will visit Bloomberg where she will hold a meeting with representatives of businesses and information technology startups.
After London, the President will travel to Brussels where she will meet with leaders of the European Union and NATO. The President is expected to return to Croatia on Friday, when she will attend the inaugural sitting of Parliament for its first meeting after September’s elections.
