ZAGREB, April 19, 2018 – Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the visiting Minister President of Baden-Wuerttemberg Winfried Kretschmann met on Thursday to discuss economic cooperation and relations between Croatia and that German federal state.
Kretschmann later met separately with Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Marija Pejčinović Burić.
Plenković and Kretschmann discussed economic cooperation which amounts to about one billion euro, notably the ICT industry and investments, as well as the situation in the region and the future of the European Union, the government said in a press release.
During the meeting, which was also attended by Regional Development and European Union Funds Minister Gabrijela Žalac and Science and Education Minister Blaženka Divjak, the traditionally very good relations between Croatia and Germany were underscored and Plenković in particular commended activities of the Croatia-Baden-Wuerttemberg Commission founded in 2005.
“The numerous Croatian diaspora in Baden-Wuerttemberg is an additional link in our good relations,” the PM said expressing gratitude for the material support to the Croatian community’s cultural and education projects.
Plenković welcomed Kretschmann’s visit to Vukovar-Srijem County as well as the co-organisation of the “Region in Transition – Europe as an Opportunity” forum held in Vukovar on Wednesday. “I consider that to be a useful contribution to the further development of regional cooperation within the EU Strategy for the Danube Region,” Plenković said.
The visiting German official and Minister Pejčinović Burić confirmed the good bilateral relations and underscored the importance of further developing cooperation between Croatia and Baden-Wuerttemberg, where according to official data 112,000 Croatian citizens live.
The two officials also discussed the EU Danube strategy and the possibilities of strengthening bilateral economic cooperation. They also spoke about the future development of the EU and European integration of Southeast European countries.
Pejčinović Burić underlined Croatia’s support to SEE countries on their European journey, emphasising in particular the status of the Croat people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the ministry’s public relations office said in a press release.
