First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić continued her visit to Colombia by meeting with representatives of the Croat community, with whom she discussed ways to improve the economic cooperation between the two countries and Croatia's foreign policy priorities
Pusić thanked the Croatian expats for coming and informed them that this was the first visit by a Croatian high official to Colombia since the establishment of bilateral relations 20 years ago.
“Having joined the EU, we decided to branch out and improve cooperation with countries outside of the European circle. Colombia is one of those countries. We have a lot of similarities and share some similar problems, and that is why one of the first things Croatia started doing in Colombia was mine clearance,” Pusić said, adding that the Croatian Mine Action Centre (CROMAC) planned to open a similar centre in Colombia. The talks with Colombian officials also focused on cooperation in shipbuilding, with the Colombian side expressing interest in riverboats and patrol boats which could be constructed in Croatia. The EU-Colombia Free Trade Agreement is in its final stages and will facilitate doing business, notably in those areas not affected by geographical distance, such as shipbuilding and pharmaceutical industry. Another potential area of cooperation is tourism, as last year just short of 60,000 Brazilians visited Croatia. Colombia could also be our partner in defence industry, demining and transport. “We have the possibility of developing cooperation with a growing country, in a location where we haven’t been establishing much cooperation in the past,” Pusić said, adding: “In that regard, your presence here is precious to us because it facilitate communication and making contacts in economy and culture, as well as simply drawing the two societies closer.”
On Friday and Saturday Pusić will be visiting Santiago, the capital of Chile, to attend the conference "Women in Power and Decision-Making: Making a World of Difference", organised by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and the UN Women organisation.