Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman participated in an informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers (Gymnich) in Brdo near Kranj on Thursday and Friday, 2 and 3 September 2021.
The ministers discussed the worrying situation in Afghanistan and agreed on the next steps. Minister Grlić Radman welcomed the announcements of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and neighboring countries.
"It is extremely important to make every effort to provide security for citizens and protect the rights of women and girls. It is also necessary to prevent a wave of migrants, which is why we must provide necessary assistance to both Afghanistan's neighbors and EU members guarding our external border. In this context, I welcome the statement on the situation in Afghanistan adopted at the extraordinary meeting of interior ministers held on 31 August,“ the minister emphasized.
He then stressed that EU member states must work more closely together in the fight against terrorism. "It is a challenging process that requires a complex and comprehensive approach, and preventing the infiltration of terrorists into migratory flows will be particularly challenging," the minister said.
EU-China relations were also discussed at the meeting. The ministers were joined after the meeting by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, with whom they discussed India’s geopolitical role in Asia and the multipolar world. After Gymnich, Minister Grlić Radman continued the conversation with his Indian colleague in Zagreb.
This is the first visit of an Indian Foreign Minister to Croatia, and among the many topics of the conversation, the emphasis will be on strengthening cooperation in areas such as the economy, culture, defense and security.