On Wednesday, 10 June 2009, the Croatian Diplomacy Day was marked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration with a number of events.

In the speech addressing the attendees at the beginning of the ceremony, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Gordan Jandroković expressed satisfaction with the results achieved in the last year, among which as the most important he pointed out accession of Croatia to full membership of NATO. He also pointed out that the efforts to implement the reforms and fulfil the criteria for membership of the European Union continued with the same intensity. Together with the global topics Croatia addressed as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, he remarked that the past year confirmed continued commitment of the Croatian policy to the neighbours and the region, including the development of bilateral relations in Europe and outside of Europe. In this process, special emphasis was put on stimulating economic cooperation, investments and developing of possibilities to improve trade.

Croatian emigrant Vladimir Novak presented Minister Jandroković with a deed donating to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration a collection of photographs documenting the lives and work of Croats who emigrated to the United States of America. Vladimir Novak, a retired American Croat, had been collecting photographs documenting the life and work of Croats in the USA from the 1970s. A part of his collection consists of the exhibition that was donated today entitled “Croats in America”, comprising a selection of 56 magnified and framed photographs accompanied by text in Croatian and English. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration will use the donated photographs for exhibitions across the USA and Canada, and other states as well, thus greatly contributing to cultural promotion of the Republic of Croatia.

Afterwards, the book entitled "Diplomacy of the Republic of Dubrovnik" by Svjetlan Berković, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to the Republic of Slovenia, was presented. The importance of this work is considerable, especially bearing in mind that the achievements of Dubrovnik diplomacy, equally as the cultural heritage and economic tradition of the Republic of Dubrovnik, represent important factors that are incorporated in the creation of the autonomous and independent Republic of Croatia.

At today’s ceremony Minister Gordan Jandroković presented certificates of completed 12th One-Year Professional Diplomatic Study of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration to attendees of the study in academic year 2008/2009 with.

A reception for the diplomatic corps accredited to the Republic of Croatia was organised today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration on the occasion of celebrating the Croatian Diplomacy Day.

The Croatian Diplomacy Day, June 7th, is traditionally celebrated to mark a historic event from 879 when Pope John VIII addressed a letter to Croatian Prince Branimir informing him that in Rome he had blessed him and the Croatian people, thus acknowledging his "secular rule over the entire Croatia". At the time, this was the highest international acknowledgement whereby, speaking in today’s terms, Croatia was recognised as a sovereign country.