Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman began his official visit to Turkey by holding bilateral talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara.
The two ministers underscored satisfaction with the traditionally good political relations between Croatia and Turkey, as well as with the dynamic exchange of high-level visits.
They highlighted intensified economic relations and a constant growth in trade, which in 2022 for the first time surpassed US$ 1 billion. Preliminary data for 2023 show a continuation of that positive trend.
Grlić Radman and Fidan also discussed regional and global topics, notably the Middle East, Ukraine and the situation in Southeast Europe.
Speaking about the EU-Turkey relations, Grlić Radman said that, as a candidate country, Turkey remained a key EU partner, and that Croatia would continue to push for a constructive dialogue and cooperation between the EU and Turkey. He applauded Turkey’s efforts in managing migration and providing for a large number of refugees, and informed Fidan about the efforts Croatia is taking to prevent illegal migration.
The two ministers stressed that Croatia and Turkey are NATO allies and share an interest in the region of Southeast Europe. In that context, they discussed further cooperation within the Croatia-Turkey-Bosnia and Herzegovina trilateral.
Grlić Radman thanked Turkey for the continuous support to Croatia on its path to OECD membership, which is one of our foreign policy priorities.
The minister will continue his official visit by delivering a lecture to students and diplomatic corps at the Presidential Library and visiting a school in the earthquake-hit Adiyaman province rebuilt with Croatian funds.
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