The important visitor is to meet with the President and the Prime Minister.
According to still unconfirmed sources in the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to arrive for a two-day visit to Croatia, where he will meet with President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković, reports Večernji List on April 7, 2016.
Turkish President Erdogan should arrive in Zagreb on 26 April in the evening, and the next day we will continue to Hungary, where he will take part in events marking the famous Battle of Szigetvar, which is one of the most famous events in Croatian history as well, since in 1566 Nikola Šubić Zrinski died there defending the fortress from the army commanded by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Szigetvar, or Siget as Croatians call it, is a town in south-western Hungary, in the Hungarian Baranja region about 30 kilometres from the Croatian border.
According to the source, the visit of the Turkish President Erdogan to Croatia will certainly cause a negative reaction from non-governmental and human rights organizations, which is why the details of his visit are still being kept secret. Sources say that Erdogan is familiar with the fact that he is not very popular in Croatia due to the way he rules in Turkey and due to accusations about human rights and media freedoms violations, and the frequent arrests of journalists who criticize his policies.
It is certain that the visit of Turkish President to Croatia, which is an EU member and one of the countries on the Balkan migrant route, is of great importance for Turkey, because in addition to bilateral relations and the strengthening of economic cooperation between the two countries, the officials will discuss the migrant and refugee crisis, the closure of the Balkan route, the issue of returning migrants and refugees to Turkey, as well as the liberalization of the visa regime for Turkish citizens and the acceleration of negotiations on Turkey’s accession to the European Union.
The Turkish side expects that Croatia, unlike many EU member states which oppose it, will give its full support to its path to integration into Europe.
