State Secretary for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Zdenko Lucić participated in the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Development format (FAC Development).
The meeting, chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, focused primarily on a common European response to global challenges, such as reductions in official development assistance funding and the impact of the conflict in Iran on the least developed countries.
Particular emphasis was placed on the fact that the EU and its Member States collectively remain the world’s largest provider of Official Development Assistance (ODA), a role that carries significant global responsibility.
Lucić stressed the importance of the European neighbourhood for the security and stability of the EU and recalled that South-East Europe is a development priority for the Republic of Croatia. Instruments such as the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) and the Global Gateway strategy are essential for ensuring predictable and stable support for partner countries.
In order to encourage greater synergy between the public and private sectors in development cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs established the National Team for Global Gateway, tasked with strengthening the involvement of Croatian companies in EU development instruments.
In the context of the consequences of the conflict in Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on the most vulnerable countries, Lucić recalled that, during Croatia’s presidency of the MED9 initiative, the Republic of Croatia, together with the Italian Republic, launched the Rome Coalition for Fertilizer Access and Food Security.
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