Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Gordan Jandrokovic met December 10th 2009 in Washington, during his official visit to the United States, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, representatives of the White House, Congress and Senate, Pentagon officials, and representatives of the Croatian-American community.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Gordan Jandrokovic met December 10th 2009 in Washington, during his official visit to the United States, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, representatives of the White House, Congress and Senate, Pentagon officials, and representatives of the Croatian-American community.
In a media statement after the meeting with Secretary of State Clinton, Minister Jandrokovic expressed satisfaction with his repeated visit to the US and thanked with Secretary of State Clinton for her invitation. He said the meeting confirmed the two countries' excellent relations, which can be defined as allied, partnership and friendly. He expressed gratitude for the United States' support and assistance in issues of special interest for Croatia: NATO membership, the EU accession process and cooperation in South Eastern Europe.
Minister Jandrokovic said there was also talk about the successful conclusion to Slovenia's veto on Croatia's accession negotiations and the fact that the Croatian Parliament had ratified November 20th 2009 the Arbitration Agreement.
He familiarized Secretary of State Clinton with the remaining tasks Croatia faces on its path towards the EU, as well as with its intention to complete the negotiations by mid-2010. He stressed the importance of the justice and public administration reform, the fight against corruption, and cooperation with the International Criminal Court.
Minister Jandrokovic reiterated that the Croatian Government supports President Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan, pointing out that Croatia is ready to strengthen its presence in Afghanistan and is seeking ways to continue contributing to NATO's key efforts in the country. He expressed his belief in the most important task being the training of Afghan security and police forces so they could assume the control over the country's security. Croatia, apart from the three already active operative training teams, will contribute by reassigning the existing forces to the forming of two new police training teams.
The meeting also discussed the situation in South Eastern Europe, whereby Minister Jandrokovic pointed out that Croatia welcomes the United States' renewed engagement in the region, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He said Croatia believes that the Butmir negotiations on constitutional amendments need to continue until consensus is reached and stressed the importance of maintaining the Euro-Atlantic perspective for all the countries of South Eastern Europe.
The collocutors also talked about Croatia's continued interest to include Croatian citizens in the United States' no-visa regime, with Minister Jandrokovic informing Secretary of State Clinton about the meeting of the required criteria on Croatia's part.
Mario Dragun
Spokesman
Press releases
