Minister Pusić talks region, EU, economic relations with her Turkish counterpart

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić is paying an official visit to Turkey, during which she met with her Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoglu

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić is paying an official visit to Turkey, during which she met with her Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoglu and talked about Croatia-Turkey bilateral and economic relations, regional cooperation and EU topics.

After the meeting, Pusić said that economic cooperation was improving by the year. Significant Turkish investments have been made in the Croatian financial and tourism sectors, but the potential for reciprocal investments in those areas is much greater, she said, adding there was room for improvement in culture and sports cooperation as well.

“Croatia greatly appreciates Turkey’s taking in nearly two millions of Syrian refugees and understands that is represents an enormous financial responsibility and burden, therefore we offered a symbolic financial support at the onset of the crisis to show that we understand the importance of what Turkey is doing,” Pusić said, adding that Turkey’s position in the region is twofold: on the one hand Turkey is a key player in its region, while on the other it borders with the countries of Southeast Europe, i.e. EU aspirants.

Pusić said it was important for Turkey to stay on the path towards future EU membership. “Croatia and Turkey simultaneously started their EU entry talks in 2005. In the meantime, Croatia has become a member state, not because we are ‘better’, but because we are smaller. We believe it is important for both the EU and Turkey that Turkey becomes a member state because it is a key factor in the stabilization and development of this part of Europe and the world,” the minister said.

Asked about the positive aspects of the EU membership, Pusić said that export had grown by 10 per cent due to the access to the European single market, but even more importantly, Croatia’s voice is finally heard in the EU institutions, as evident in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. “But the job isn’t finished yet, this is just the beginning that has proven that countries sitting at the table and participating in discussions can propose initiatives and policies regarding strategic matters such as the EU enlargement,” Pusić said, adding that it also proved why Croatia considered extremely important that Turkey sat at the European table and participated in creating European policies. "The EU, notably countries which support Turkey's progress towards EU membership, sees Turkey as a partner and future member. That is why anything that obstructs that progress and questions Turkey's commitment to it is considered even more important than in some other cases or countries," Pusić said.

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