Minister Grabar-Kitarovic met with Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik
Minister Grabar-Kitarovic met with Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik
Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic met 15 November 2006 with Foreign Minister of the Republic of Austria Ursula Plassnik.
After the meeting, the two ministers gave press statements.
Minister Grabar-Kitarovic wished Minister Plassnik a warm welcome and congratulated her on the award that will be handed to her today, 15 November 2006, by the Croatian-Austrian Friendship Society for promoting the friendly relations between Croatia and Austria in the field of science, culture, education, and economy in 2005. Describing the relations between Croatia and Austria as more than friendly, Minister Grabar-Kitarovic backed that up by saying that Austria offered friendly and good-neighbourly support for Croatia when it need it the most, both in times of aggression and during the conducting of the reforms – through political, humanitarian, and technical assistance, as well as the exchange of the experiences in the EU negotiations process.
Minister Grabar-Kitarovic pointed out that the bilateral relations between Croatia and Austria are very good, as confirmed by the dynamics of frequent high-level visits between the two sides.
As regards the economic co-operation, Minister Grabar-Kitarovic said that, although there is an intense trade going on between the two countries, she believes it will still increase in the future, especially on the Croatian side. Mentioning tourism, Minister Grabar-Kitarovic stated she hopes that the infrastructure Croatia is investing so much in will become an even stronger bridge for connecting the two countries.
The co-operation between Croatia and Austria on the multilateral field, said Minister Grabar-Kitarovic, is excellent – not only within the EU, but the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, and other multilateral organisations and institutions as well.
Minister Grabar-Kitarovic especially pointed out Austria's role during its EU presidency as the first country to promote the idea of European perspective for all countries of South-Eastern Europe, based on individual approach to the EU membership. She said that Austria's support for Croatia's initiative to enlarge CEFTA, as a framework for a free multilateral trade in South-Eastern Europe and wider, is appreciated and can be considered a joint success by Croatia, Austria, the European Union, and South-Eastern Europe.
Minister Plassnik thanked for the invitation and confirmed the existence of very good and friendly relations between the two countries, filled with mutual trust. She said that the economic relations between Croatia and Austria are developing at a solid pace, but that there is still room for their intensification. She congratulated Minister Grabar-Kitarovic and the whole Croatian negotiating team on their success, pointing out that there is a general consensus among the EU foreign ministers regarding Croatia's progress in its EU negotiations process, and that Croatia has every reason to continue with optimism down the path it has begun, along which, said Minister Plassnik, the Republic of Austria will continue to be its reliable and trusty partner.
Ivana Crnic
Spokesperson
Pressemitteilungen
