Relations between Croatia and Australia were also discussed, with a wish for the strengthening of the bilateral co-operation, especially in economy. As the Austrian side has recently shown new initiatives for the co-operation in ship building and investment in tourism, progress can be expected in the economic bilateral co-operation.
Minister Grabar-Kitarović proposed a concrete co-operation between Melbourne and the Croatian cities through fraternisation in order to create a stronger and more quality co-operation between the local communities’ representatives.
During her stay in Melbourne, Minister Grabar-Kitarović held a lecture at the Australian Institute for International Relation entitled “Croatia and the European Union”. Speaking of Croatia’s acceding to the EU, Minister Grabar-Kitarović informed the present parties with the reforms Croatia is conducting with the aim of a successful integration into the EU. She also reviewed the established negotiations structures in Croatia, as well as the challenges that await us during the negotiations, such as the communication with the Croatian citizens on the process of acceding to the EU, protecting the agricultural manufacturers, and the EU pre-accession programs opened in Croatia.
During her stay in Melbourne, Minister Grabar-Kitarović also met with the representatives of the Croatian community in the Croatian Community’s Center in Geelong, where she held an opening lecture on the Croatian foreign policy and the policy on expatriates.