President Milanović: Economic cooperation with partners outside the EU is in the Croatian interest; this is demonstrated by the interest of Croatian companies in Georgia

“Your meeting is taking place in the context of my official visit to Georgia, with which Croatia has fostered friendly and, in recent years, more intensive economic relations. Therefore, your meeting is not merely a side event of a meeting at the highest level. You are addressing here major, some would say key, issues, that is, what should form a strong foundation for Croatian-Georgian relations,” President Zoran Milanović told Croatian and Georgian businessmen at the opening of the Croatian-Georgian Business Forum, organized by the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia and the Georgian Chamber of Commerce.

As part of the official visit of the Croatian President to Georgia, a meeting of Croatian and Georgian businessmen was organized in Tbilisi, which was also addressed by the President of the Republic at the opening.

“Croatia is interested in further expanding and building on existing economic ties. They must and can be better, stronger and closer”, the Croatian President said.

Although economic cooperation between Croatia and Georgia is still modest, trade indicators point to a significant potential, and President Milanović expressed satisfaction with the growth trend of Croatian exports to Georgia, which increased by almost 150 percent in the period from 2021 to 2024. “Objective conditions for further growth undoubtedly exist. The presence of leading Croatian companies – Končar, Podravka, Kraš, Franck and Sano – reassure me that your meetings in Tbilisi, and hopefully in Zagreb too, will have an encouraging effect on future economic indicators of our economic cooperation,” the President noted.

That Georgian businesspeople are interested in cooperation, was confirmed by the large turnout at the forum, which was attended by representatives of almost 70 Georgian companies. They included: Tbilisi Free Zone, Geosteel LLC, AgroKiziki, LLC Nexa Distribution, Daily Group and Georgia. The Georgian Minister of Economy Mariam Kvrivishvilli was also in attendance.

President Milanović stated that the European Union is Croatia’s strategic foreign policy orientation and shapes much of Croatian economic policy, but Croatian economic interests also include strengthening cooperation with partners outside the European Union because “there is a world outside the European Union”. “Croatian economic interests undoubtedly lie in increasingly intensive cooperation with economic partners outside the European Union, including Georgia, whose economy has been recording continuous and accelerated growth in recent years, while maintaining macroeconomic stability and serious prospects for further progress in the future. This is a significant achievement, especially considering the various external challenges due to disruptions in regional trade, logistics and energy flows caused by Russian aggression on Ukraine”, he added.

“Small and open economies are naturally focused on international and mutual cooperation with the aim of ensuring economies of scale for their companies. The lack of size can and must be compensated for through mutually beneficial cooperation. It also implies an increase in private investment and transfers of know-how, systematic parts, higher productivity as the key to a better quality of life for all of us”, President Milanović feels.

In his address, President Milanović also addressed the political and economic situation in the world and pointed out that “uncertainty and risks have not been this intense in the global economy for a long time.” “However, the dynamics of economic relations are not only influenced by the good wishes of our politicians, but also by the direct cooperation of you, businesspeople, people who produce, create, trade, exchange,” President Milanović said in his conclusion.

The meeting between Croatian and Georgian businesspeople concluded President Milanović’s two-day official visit to Georgia.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan