ZAGREB: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday scripted historical past as he landed in Zagreb on the first-ever go to by an Indian Prime Minister to Croatia, marking an necessary milestone in bilateral relationship. Zagreb is the final cease on PM Modi’s three-nation tour, which additionally included visits to Cyprus en path to Canada for Tuesday’s G7 Summit in Kananaskis.
“I sit up for my go to to the Republic of Croatia and conferences with President Zoran Milanovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic. Each our international locations get pleasure from centuries-old shut cultural hyperlinks. As the primary go to by an Indian Prime Minister to Croatia, it should open new avenues for bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual curiosity,” Prime Minister Modi mentioned on Sunday.
He had asserted that the three-nation tour can be a chance to thank companion international locations for his or her steadfast assist to India in India’s struggle towards cross-border terrorism, and to galvanise world understanding on tackling terrorism in all its varieties and manifestations.
Analysts reckon that the first-ever go to by Indian PM to Croatia will assist in fostering stronger political and financial collaboration with Croatia. It can additionally present a vital alternative to develop bilateral cooperation in varied sectors together with commerce, innovation, defence, ports, delivery, science and tech, cultural alternate, and workforce mobility.
India and Croatia have shut cooperation in commerce, funding, defence, agriculture sectors amongst others, and in addition cooperate in worldwide fora, vibrant cultural exchanges and shut people-to-people ties.
The bilateral commerce between each nations stands at about USD 300 million with the Indian investments in Croatia being roughly round USD 48 million.
Prime Minister Modi briefly interacted with Croatian PM Plenkovic at COP-26 in 2021 and the digital India-EU Leaders Assembly the identical 12 months. Former President Ramnath Kovind undertook State Go to to Croatia in March 2019, throughout which he was conferred with Croatia’s highest civilian honor (‘the Grand Order of the King of Tomislav’).
India has been well-known in Croatia for hundreds of years, and the earliest Croatian guests to India have been missionaries. Hyperlinks have been discovered between the Principality of Dubrovnik and Goa, and the Church of Sao Braz was reportedly constructed by Croatians round 1563 in Goa.
The Indian neighborhood in Croatia has modified over the past three years quickly on account of demographic state of affairs in Croatia the place a whole lot of overseas staff are being employed for finishing up work in several sectors of financial system.
There have been roughly 17000 Indians residing in Croatia in December 2024. Most of the Indian staff are engaged on quick to medium time period contracts and due to this fact no less than, 90 per cent of the individuals amongst at present residing are those that kind part of the cell inhabitants staying in Croatia for a selected contractual interval.