Deputy Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Joško Klisović participated in a meeting Turkish-Croatian Business Council, held 29 May in Istanbul.
The meeting, organized by the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK) and the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), also included a round table on the prospects of investing in Croatia as well as a B2B business forum. Opening remarks were delivered by Croatian co-chair of the Council Zlatan Frohlich, chairman of the Zagreb Chamber, and Turkish co-chair of the Council Burak Baykan, Deputy Chairman of DEIK.
At the plenary part of the meeting, Klisović spoke of the Croatian government’s commitment to strengthening the economic cooperation between the two countries and underlined the prospect of mutual investments.
“We have high quality products and services, a geographical position in the centre of Europe, highly qualified and competitively priced workforce as well as an excellent infrastructure, and we are upgrading our railways,” stressed Klisović. He said that he saw Turkey as a strategic partner in the region, not only politically but in terms of trade and investments as well. He also mentioned the prospect of cooperation on third markets, notably Central Asia and South Caucasus.
At the round table, Klisović outlined the prospects of investing in Croatia and informed the participants about the new investment climate aimed at stimulating foreign investments. He presented the new Strategic Investment Act, which facilitates investments in projects of national interest. He pointed out that a work group had been formed tasked with improving the business climate and monitoring private investments. Conclusively, Klisović invited Turkish investors on behalf of the Croatian government to participate in investment projects in Croatia.
As part of the B2B forum, representatives of 12 Croatian and 45 Turkish companies discussed the prospects of business cooperation.