The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, will be in Zagreb tomorrow to take part in the Italy-Croatia Business Forum and to hold some meetings with local authorities.
The mission will be mainly designed to further relaunch the already excellent economic partnership between Italy and Croatia. With trade worth over EUR 8 billion and a positive trade balance for our country, the Italian government is looking at the growing Italian-Croatian economic cooperation with great attention. In fact, the Export Plan developed by the Foreign Ministry, upon the instructions of Minister Tajani, identifies the Adriatic-Balkan area as a region with high potential, thanks to considerable economic dynamism and sustained growth rates. There are over 300 Italian companies operating in the country, making a decisive contribution to the Croatian entrepreneurial ecosystem. Italy is Croatia’s second largest supplier, with a market share equal to 13.3 per cent.
In this context, the works of tomorrow’s Business Forum, which will be opened by Croatian Foreign Minister Grlić-Radman and Minister Tajani, will allow for an in-depth analysis – together with ITA, SACE, SIMEST, and CDP and representatives of the production sector – of the many business opportunities and financial instruments that can provide further momentum to bilateral economic cooperation. The agenda of the Business Forum will hinge around three sectoral groups focusing on energy transition, infrastructure and digitalisation, and Italian-Croatian industrial cooperation.
The mission will also provide an opportunity to take stock of the excellent state of bilateral relations. Minister Tajani will have bilateral meetings with Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic. Besides strengthening economic cooperation, the meetings will focus on the trilateral cooperation of the Northern Adriatic with Croatia and Slovenia, as well as on coordination in the EU and NATO spheres, and on the further strengthening of cultural cooperation, with a particular focus on Italophony. The role of the indigenous Italian minority in Croatia, as a bridge in the political dialogue between the two sides of the Adriatic, will also be emphasised.
