President Milanović at Opening of Exhibition of Traditional Products “Autumn in Lika“ in Gospić
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović attended the opening of the 22nd edition of the exhibition of traditional products “Jesen u Lici” (Autumn in Lika), a fair showcasing autochtonous products of small agricultural farms and small enterprises from Lika-Senj County including rural areas from nearly all Croatian counties. Opening the “Jesen in Lika” event, President Milanović wished the exhibitors to be the envy of others and to be their own landowners and bosses, “you don’t have to beg anybody for anything, and preserve, build and use smartly what is yours”.
“This region doesn’t need anybody’s help or mercy. You have beautiful land here. There are 50 thousand of you and that is no drama or cause for alarm, or sign of fear”, the President said about Lika-Senj County. He added that 50 thousand people on this piece of the homeland, then the parcels of land and the soil, have an incredibly valuable and good resource that can provide them with a quality life. “What you are offering and selling is quality. Your potatoes are an excellent product in Europe, which is not valued enough on the market and its price should be higher. Its quality is a lot better and this isn’t the only example. For this one needs brainpower, aggressiveness, boldness and stubbornness, and success is close at hand”, President MIlanović remarked.
He further said that Lika-Senj County is no peripheral area and that residents of Lika have all the prerequisites to be competitive and to have a rich life and work for themselves. “Not like my ancestors for the Austrian or some other army. That was an example and opportunity for man to elevate himself, and subsequently to look at his own interests, his pocket, his country and to preserve what is his. That doesn’t mean that you have to be narrow-minded or chauvinist or have prejudices against others, you have to be open because you live from openness. Your goods are your window to the world, your goods are on shelves throughout the world, the services you sell and whose quality is increasingly improving are luring and attracting people from Croatia, Europe and the world”, President Milanović noted.
In the end, he told exhibitors to wear masks, “keep social distancing, behave like Swedes, take care of your health, but don’t lose your brainpower and your sense for the normal”, President Milanović stated.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas