Croatian Ambassador to Japan Dr. Drago Štambuk gave a welcome speech at the Croatian Investment Seminar held at the Japan Bank for International Cooperation

Ambassador Štambuk outlined the advantages of the Republic of Croatia as regards maritime transport, and drew attention to the fact that the Port of Rijeka offered the swiftest way to transport goods from Asian countries to subsidiaries of Japanese companies in Central and Eastern Europe. Ambassador Štambuk said that the time of crisis was also a time to recognize new opportunities, and expressed his hope that the representatives of Japanese companies would recognize the opportunities that Croatia offered to them.

In addition, Ambassador drew attention to the fact that the interest of the Japanese tourists in Croatia as a tourist destination was steadily growing, with approximately 144,000 Japanese tourists visiting Croatia in 2008, which is a 66% increase in relation to 2007, or almost five times more tourists from Japan in comparison with 2005.

The Seminar was jointly organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Japan, the Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (APIU), the Japan Institute for Overseas Investment (JOI) and the UNIDO-ITPO Office in Tokyo, and attended by about 60 representatives of Japanese companies. Investment Seminars on the same topic were also held in Osaka on 16 April and Kyoto on 17 April.

On 16 April 2009, Ambassador Štambuk also attended the imperial garden reception in Tokyo where he met with the Emperor Akihito and the imperial family as well as Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and his wife Chikako who expressed her desire to visit Croatia. This meeting with the leading Japanese officials was an opportunity that Ambassador Štambuk availed himself of to present the project of the Port of Rijeka.