President’s Visit To Croatia

• 28 Mar 2019

During the first leg of his three-nation tour to Croatia, Bolivia, and Chile, President of India completed his visit to Croatia.

• In Croatia, President had meetings with the Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and the Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

Outcome of the Visit

• During the visit, India and Croatia signed four Memorandum of Understandings: two in culture, one each in tourism, and sports.
• President of India was also conferred with Croatia's highest civilian award - the Grand Order of the King of Tomislav.
• The two countries also agreed to work together to develop a strong global response to defeat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

India-Croatia Relations

• Relations between India and Croatia have been friendly since the days of the former Yugoslavia.
  • The Breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s.
  • Disintegration gave birth to six new countries namely: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. 
• Josip Broz Tito who was president of Yugoslavia for more than three decades maintained close relations with the then Indian leadership.
• Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Tito were also pioneers of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Non-Aligned Movement

• The Non-Aligned Movement was formed during the Cold War as an organization of States that did not seek to formally align themselves with either the two superpower blocs United States or the Soviet Union but sought to remain independent or neutral.
• Key role in this process was played by:
  • Gamal Abdel Nasser, Head of State of Egypt
  • Kwame Nkrumah, President of Ghana,
  • Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India,
  • Ahmed Sukarno, President of Indonesia
  • Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia,
• These leaders later became the founding fathers of the movement.
• The basic concept for the group originated in 1955 during discussions that took place at the Asia-Africa Bandung Conference held in Indonesia.

• Croatia is an important Central European country from the point of view of its geo-strategic location, membership of the European Union and the NATO, as well as being a significant Gateway to Europe through the Adriatic coastline.
• India-Croatian relations are characterized by historical connections links between India and Croatia dating back to the 16th century.
• Croatian people have a deep interest in India. The Indology department in the University of Zagreb has existed for over six decades and an Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Hindi chair was set up there a decade ago.
• The bilateral trade relations between India and Croatia are modest at around 200 million US Dollars in 2017.
• But there is a good scope for trade in sectors like textile, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering goods, food processing among others.
• Croatia has a sound scientific and technological base in niche sectors, such as shipbuilding, vaccines, renewable energy, and defense.