Minister Grabar-Kitarović met with Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht

Both sides confirmed the existence of very good bilateral relations between the two friendly countries, with no open issues. The Croatian side thanked for the assistance and support Belgium is offering Croatia in its EU and NATO accession.

Belgium’s pre-accession assistance is greatly appreciated on the Croatian side. Only this year, Belgium has donated €150,000 to the Croatian Mine Action Center for the demining of the future business zone in Cerić, Vukovarsko-srijemska County, with the overall Belgium’s assistance exceeding €500,000. Apart from that, €450,000 have been donated for buying a new crane for Vukovar’s port, with two cranes having already been donated, which revived the port’s cargo activity. In 2004, the Flemish Government included Croatia in the Pre-accession Assistance Program for project financing, with funds for 2007 totalling €500,000.

Minister Grabar-Kitarović informed her colleague about the progress of the EU accession negotiations, expressing hope that the negotiation dynamics will further intensify in the following period. The Belgian side confirmed its support for further enlargement and Croatia’s full EU membership, as well as the necessary institutional reforms of the EU with the aim of achieving sustainable further enlargement.

A part of the meeting dealt with the current events in South East Europe. Minister Grabar-Kitarović pointed out that Croatia is presiding over or actively participating in numerous regional integrations and initiatives. As the most topical she noted SEECP, which Croatia is currently presiding over, and the initiative for CEFTA enlargement with the aim of strengthening the co-operation among its members. Minister De Gucht pointed out that he sees Croatia as a country playing an important role in further stabilisation and the overall development.

Both sides agreed that the economic co-operation between Croatia and Belgium has in the past few years been on the constant upswing, with an accompanying increase in trade. The Croatian side welcomed Belgium’s investments and expressed satisfaction with the presence of Croatian companies on the Belgian market. So far, very good co-operation has been established between the port of Antwerpen and the Croatian ports, with the representatives of the Croatian ports being included on the Flemish Government’s scholarship in the program of port management training in Antwerpen, said Minister Grabar-Kitarović.