The Diplomat
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković will pay an official visit to Spain on the 16th, as part of the celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Spain and Croatia, which will take place tomorrow, Wednesday.
The Croatian Embassy in Madrid yesterday issued a communiqué stating that this visit “is part of the celebration of this important anniversary”. In October last year, the President of the Government paid a visit to Croatia.
As two Mediterranean countries,” the statement continues, “Spain and Croatia had friendly relations and shared common interests even before Croatia’s independence. After the proclamation of Croatia’s independence, which Spain recognised along with other European Union countries on 15 January 1992, the dialogue between the two countries deepened in a new way. Since then, cooperation between Croatia and Spain has developed in all fields, political, commercial, cultural, tourist, scientific, educational and sporting”.
The communiqué highlights that “Spain has always offered its firm and constant support on Croatia’s path towards Western integrations, which culminated in Croatia’s entry into NATO in 2009 and the European Union in 2013. Recently, Spain supported Croatia’s entry into the MED 7 (now MED 9) partnership and continues to support it in its efforts for entry into the Schengen area, euro area and OECD.”
We emphasise shared values and the harmony of the two countries on international policy issues,” continues the Croatian Embassy’s communiqué, “both within the framework of the European Union and NATO, as well as on a bilateral level. Trade and investment exchanges, as well as cultural and educational exchanges, offer even more possibilities for closer cooperation and deepening the mutual understanding of our two peoples”.
“In recent years, the Embassy’s note concludes, our bilateral relations have intensified significantly. Last year, the two countries expanded the agenda of bilateral consultations and visits at the highest level. In October last year, the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, visited Zagreb, the first official visit of a Spanish Prime Minister to Croatia”.
