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State Secretary for Political Affairs Frano Matušić participated in a high-level political segment of the OSCE Mediterranean Conference. The Conference focused on the post-pandemic recovery and security, and saw the participation of 57 OSCE member states and 6 Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia.
Addressing the event, Matušić said that as a Mediterranean country, Croatia recognized the importance of strengthening cooperation in the region, not only through active political dialogue on key issues, but also by advancing relations in a number of areas of common interest, such as economy, science, culture, environment and security.
The state secretary warned that we live in a challenging world marked by climate change, armed conflicts, instability, migrations and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He underscored the importance of multilateralism and regional cooperation, as these challenges required the highest level of cooperation and solidarity among countries, stressing the role of OSCE as a platform for boosting political dialogue on these issues.
Matušić reflected on the measures Croatia had adopted during the pandemic, emphasizing that our priority was speeding up the vaccination rate and implementing smart policies regarding COVID-19 certificates. He said that Croatia was a recognizable Mediterranean tourist country, which during the summer season had struck a balance between health concerns and open borders, achieving excellent tourist results and helping preserve jobs in the tourist industry and economy.
The state secretary emphasized that in these challenging times, OSCE’s role as a forum for dialogue and crisis management was irreplaceable.
Concluding his address, Matušić thanked Poland as the chair of the Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation Group for its work in 2021.