ZAGREB, June 28, 2018 – The US Administration is not taking Croatia for granted and plans to dedicate more attention to it as an important partner, with emphasis on business and financial matters, US Ambassador to Croatia Robert Kohorst said on Wednesday reflecting on the first six months of his mandate.
Kohorst took up the post on January 10 and on Wednesday he addressed Croatian journalists on the occasion of the first six months of his term.
After six months, I cannot imagine that I would rather do anything else than represent the United States in Croatia, Kohorst underscored.
He believes that as America’s friend, Croatia was taken for granted for many years. That is not good. We have to remember who our friends are and pay attention and that is what the USA is doing because Croatia is a country that can contribute to prosperity and security in this area of Europe, he said.
Kohorst announced that one of his priorities is to achieve an agreement on abolishing double taxation between the two countries.
Speaking about economic cooperation, he mentioned a large investment by the KKR company in the Split-based Brodosplit shipyard for a new polar cruise ship. They informed me that they had the option of building the ship throughout Europe, however the quality and price in Croatia was the decisive factor and that they wish to collaborate with Croatians. KKR is in the process of acquiring the Nova TV television station and Kohorst called on other American companies to follow this example, adding that the embassy would work on seeing that that happens.
He touched on the settlement in the ailing Agrokor food and retail conglomerate and said he considers that the most important thing to take into account is the long term interest of the company and Croatia’s economy.
If I was to be critical of what has been done, I would say that they haven’t paid enough attention to what could happen in the future, the diplomat says. Now it’s time to set up mechanisms to protect Croatia’s economy from anyone who could manage that company poorly, be that an American or Russian company, and the government should think about that.
He underscored that it’s not his job to criticise the Russian ambassador to Croatia or the Russian government regarding Agrokor but that his objective is to promote America’s business values.
Kohorst believes that Croatia is going in the right direction with regard to the INA oil company by employing qualified consultants to evaluate the company and find a proper partner. Commenting on recent media reports about an American company’s interest in INA, Kohorst said that he didn’t think that the government should accept the first offer made but to consider the options and see who the best long-term partner would be.
He underlined the importance of building the LNG terminal on the Krk island, however, he denied that America’s interest in that project was of a financial nature.
Kohorst said that military cooperation between the two countries was interesting for him personally. I cannot imagine a better cooperation anywhere in the world between the USA and some other country rather than Croatia with whom cooperation exists in several spheres and in several regions around the world – Afghanistan, Lebanon, Kosovo and Poland. He recalled that the US army has provided invaluable help to Croatia over the past five years through training, education and military equipment valued at 500 million dollars.
Kohorst visited the military air force base in Zemunik where a logistical centre for the Kiowa helicopters has been built and mentioned the overhaul of US navy ships in the Viktor Lenac shipyard. Cooperation between the US navy and the shipyard since 2011 has brought in more than 100 million dollars.
I hope that that will continue because the USA has realised that Croatia’s shipbuilding sector is very valuable, he said and announced that the US Sixth Fleet would often be visiting the Adriatic.
