Minister Grlić Radman in Barcelona: Strengthening of cooperation within EU, NATO, MED9

Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman on Monday met in Barcelona with Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, and both officials expressed a wish for stronger cooperation in the fields of economy, tourism, culture, science and technology.

The two ministers met on the fringes of the 6th Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean and the third ministerial meeting of the EU and the Southern Neighbourhood.

Earlier in the day, Grlić Radman met with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi with whom he discussed a possible visit to Jordan.

Grlić Radman and Albares underlined the intention to strengthen cooperation within the EU, NATO and the MED9 alliance.

They also discussed the EU membership prospects of Southeast European countries, agreeing that there is no alternative to peace and stability in that region and that it is necessary to continue providing support to Southeast European countries.

Croatia in September joined the informal MED9 group together with Slovenia, for which consent was given by all members of the alliance, including Spain.

Madrid on Monday reiterated its support for Croatia's accession to the EU's zone of passport-free movement, euro area and the OECD.

This was Grlić Radman's first meeting with Albares who was appointed on 12 July. In May this year Grlić Radman met in Madrid with then Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Zagreb in October, which was the first visit by a Spanish prime minister to Croatia.

Grlić Radman invited Albares to visit Croatia.

Croatian PM Andrej Plenković is expected to visit Spain next year as part of events marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Spanish Parliament Speaker Meritxell
Batet is expected to visit Croatia next year, but those visits will also depend on the epidemiological situation in Croatia and Spain.

In June 2022 Madrid will host a NATO summit, which is expected to be attended also by Croatian President Zoran Milanović.

Grlić Radman left Barcelona on Monday evening for the Latvian capital of Riga to attend a NATO ministerial meeting taking place there on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Text: Hina/MFEA

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