The Diplomat
The King and Queen of Spain will pay an official visit to Croatia on November 16 and 17, during which they will meet with the Croatian President, Zoran Milanovic, and his wife, Sanja Music, the Government announced yesterday.
This is the first official visit of a King and Queen of Spain to Croatia since the country’s independence in 1991 and coincides with the celebration of the 30th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations, which took place on March 9.
The King and Queen will also meet with the Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenkovic, and the President of the Croatian Parliament, Gordan Jandroković.
They will be accompanied on their trip by the Minister of Science and Technology, Diana Morant, as a Memorandum of Understanding is expected to be signed during the visit between the two countries regarding the research and development of a project to obtain clean and sustainable energy.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, relations are “positive” and both countries share “potentially convergent interests within the framework of the European Union, Euro-Atlantic relations and the Mediterranean”. Spain has repeatedly supported Croatia’s entry into the Euro Zone, the Schengen area and the OECD. Besides, “Croatia develops a policy in the Western Balkans in line with the Spanish and European perspectives for the region, and acts as a positive factor of regional stability”.
In recent years, the two countries have intensified diplomatic relations and the exchange of high-level visits. The President of Government Pedro Sánchez traveled to Zagreb in October 2021. During that visit, the first by a Spanish Prime Minister since Croatia’s independence, Sánchez conveyed to Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic Spain’s support for his country’s entry into the Euro Zone and the Schengen area, two objectives that the Croatian government hopes to achieve by 2023. In March this year, Andrej Plenkovic paid the first visit of a Croatian Prime Minister to Spain in 25 years, during which he was also received by the King. Apart from that, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman visited Madrid in May 2021 and Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares traveled to Zagreb in April this year.
As for economic relations, the balance of the bilateral trade balance has traditionally been favorable for Spain, with an increasing level of exchanges. After the 2020 coronavirus crisis, exports recovered in 2021 to 539.9 million euros (+31%), Imports, however, recorded a drop of 18.2%, with 135.1 million. Bilateral trade reached a record 675 million and surpassed the 2019 record (624.2 million).
Spanish gross investment in Croatia reached 93.3 million euros and 68.4 million net from 1993 to 2021. Spanish investments are focused on the energy, textile marketing, sanitary ware and tableware production and repair and installation of machinery and equipment sectors. For its part, Croatia’s gross investment in Spain was 79.8 million euros and net investment was 4.9 million euros in the 1993-2021 period, especially in the pharmaceutical sector.
