Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman participated on 28-29 April 2024 in the World Economic Forum’s Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development in Riyadh. The meeting was attended by over 700 representatives from the public and private sectors who exchanged views on strengthening economic development, energy transition in the context of sustainable development, and technological progress with the aim of shaping a fairer and more resilient global economy. Topics of discussion included bridging the gap between the North and South considering geopolitical relations, energy transition, and new economic trends.
During the panel on global development, Grlić Radman emphasized the need for a collective approach to creating reliable global partnerships and alliances, primarily to prevent existing conflicts in the world from becoming so-called frozen or sinking into even more serious crises. "Croatia has relevant experience in this regard, having faced war in the 1990s and undergone post-war recovery. We have shared our best practices and experiences with numerous countries facing similar difficulties. However, solutions for them cannot be universal but must be tailored to local contexts and priorities," he stressed.
The minister then highlighted the crucial reform of multilateralism, emphasizing its importance in making it more effective. "Croatia is fully committed to this, seeing a central role for itself in the United Nations. Despite current challenges, we believe that the potential for global cooperation has never been greater and that the Future Summit in September will prove this and serve as a guide in these challenging times," he emphasized.
Grlić Radman then turned to the Middle East, a region of great geopolitical significance and complexity, as well as impressive innovative policies in Gulf countries. "Croatia applauds and supports the idea of building peace through strengthening economic ties. We discussed this last week at the joint meeting of the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council in Luxembourg. We have also confirmed readiness to strengthen cooperation in several areas, including security, maritime and cyber security, counterterrorism, prevention of nuclear proliferation, and crisis management. In trade - there is still much potential to be realized, as well as in the field of green energy," he highlighted.
The minister also referred to the Three Seas Initiative, established in 2016 by Croatia and Poland to strengthen economic ties and infrastructure in the region between the Adriatic, Baltic, and the Black Sea. "The initiative is evidence of our shared vision of a more advanced and interconnected Europe. The Three Seas Initiative, as a platform bringing together almost half of the EU member states, with strategic partners such as the United States, Germany, the European Commission, and as of this year, Japan, is of great importance to Croatia, as one-third of our total trade is with the Initiative's countries. Croatia leverages its geostrategic position and is today one of the most important, if not the most important, energy country in Central Europe, greatly contributing to European energy security," he stated.
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