The President of the Republic of Croatia Ivo Josipovic made a recent official state visit to Slovakia. Both presidents confirmed the high quality of mutual friendly relations between Slovakia and Croatia.

The President of Slovakia, Ivan Gašparovič, said that “there are good long-term relations between Croats and Slovaks; I certainly look forward to the development of our relations within the membership of both countries in the EU.”

The discussion also revolved around economic issues, with Mr. Gašparovič stating that it would be good if Croatia learned from our mistakes when applying for membership to the EU. The presidents agreed that the dynamization of bilateral cooperation in the energy and tourism sectors would be beneficial.

The President of Croatia thanked Slovakia for its assistance in Croatia’s EU accession efforts and requested further support. “Croatia and Slovakia are also connected through their minorities, and I believe that the mutual care for the Croatian minority living in Slovakia and Slovak minority living in Croatia is excellent," the President of Croatia said.

Regarding integration efforts, Mr. Gašparovič said: “We already consider Croatia the 28th EU Member State.” Mr. Gašparovič also pointed out the role of the V4 within the Central European region as well as the EU.

The Slovak President encouraged the Croatian President to create a similar regional group in the Western Balkans, which would promote the joint interests of this region.
Both presidents also attended the opening of the Slovak-Croatian Economic Forum.