The numbers 41 countries and the European Commission, and all of its members are parties to the Conventions on Chemical and Biological Weapons, which Croatia is also a party to and an active participant of. Croatia’s participation in the Australia Group is one of the elements of its foreign policy strategy for the EU and NATO accession, as well as the goal of Croatia’s National Security Strategy.
The Australia Group, initially founded for the purposes of harmonising the control over the export of chemical weapons and the chemicals used for their production, has extended its activities to controlling the production of the chemicals, equipment and technologies that can be used to produce chemical weapons, and the measures of preventing the proliferation of biological weapons. Annual plenary sessions are held to co-ordinate the export control policies, review the amendments to the existing control lists, and exchange information on the suspect companies, countries and transactions.
“We have placed special emphasis on strengthening the regional co-operation in non-proliferation, border security and antiterrorism”, said State Secretary Pejčinović Burić.
State Secretary Pejčinović Burić ended her speech by recognising the important contribution of the Australia Group to the international efforts to prevent the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons and threats of the biochemical terrorism, stressing Croatia’s clear dedication to the joint efforts in this area.