Minister Gordan Jandroković participated in the Bled Strategic Forum in the Republic of Slovenia

The Strategic Forum was entitled “The Politics of Economic Crisis: Redefining Economic and Geopolitical Landscapes in Europe and Eurasia”. During two days of the Forum, the panellists and participants discussed the subjects such as security policy, the new global governance in the 21st century, strengthening of economic integration of Southeast European countries, and responding to the challenges caused by the economic crisis worldwide. On the second day of the Strategic Forum, Minister Jandroković gave a speech as part of the panel entitled “Economic Crisis as a Threat to Security and Development”, headed by Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Jan Kubiš. In his speech, the Minister pointed out that protectionism should not be the answer to the world economic crisis, and he warned that the European prospects for Southeast European countries represented an important impetus for their development. He added that leading responsible politics, rebuilding of trust and recovery of the global economy across the world were some of the significant elements for overcoming the current crisis. Minister Jandroković also warned that the world economies were more interconnected and pointed out that Croatia still firmly believed in free trade and an open market, and that protectionism was not the answer to the present challenges. He also mentioned the potential influence of the current crisis on the region, pointing out that access to the sources of finance should be restored in order to create new values, strengthen exports and employment, and to secure the long-term potentials and stability of the entire region. In this context, the Minister reported about the medium-term stabilization measures programme creating the conditions to prepare for the far-reaching reforms in the near future, which was recently adopted by the Croatian Parliament and the Government.

In the discussion concerning the issues of dangers of economic and political protectionism, the Minister, among other things, said that unequivocal European prospects should be secured for all states in Southeast Europe as catalysts for their development.

On the sidelines of the Strategic Forum, Minister Jandroković held bilateral meetings with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia Antonio Milošoski, Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia Samuel Žbogar, and High Representative/EU Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Valentin Inzko.