Foreign Minister Titus Corlățean was received on 5 February 2014 by the President of the Republic of Croatia, Ivo Josipović, as part of the Romanian Minister’s official visit to that country.

On the occasion, the two officials discussed about the excellent level of the bilateral relations, the dynamics of the political-diplomatic dialogue in recent times, in light of Croatia’s recent accession to the European Union, as well as the potential to develop the economic cooperation, based on enhanced trade exchanges and investment. Given the declining trend in commercial exchanges, the two officials agreed that the relevant authorities in both states needed to undertake specific measures to reinvigorate trade. The two officials tackled aspects pertaining to consolidating economic cooperation, by using regional tools and the framework provided by the two countries’ membership of the European family. The Foreign Minister underscored the importance of deepening cooperation in the framework of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, also by promoting joint economic projects.

The Foreign Minister underscored that the Romanian authorities were interested in preserving the Istro-Romanian dialect used by the Istro-Romanian linguistic community in Croatia, which is part of that country’s intangible heritage and is registered in UNESCO’s Red Book of Endangered Languages. He reminded of the constant concern for the preservation of the identity and rights of minorities, including the Croatian minority in Romania, by facilitating access to education in the mother tongue and representation in parliament.

Both officials opined that the Romanian minority in the Republic of Croatia, as well as the Croatian minority in Romania represented genuine cultural bridges between the two countries and a solid foundation for deepening the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The two interlocutors also exchanged views on the European and regional agenda, with a focus on the evolution of the Western Balkan states in continuation of the reform pace and advancing in their rapprochement to the EU. The two parties renewed their support for the European road of those states, as well as the special attention given to observance of the European principles and values, with a focus on observance of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities.

Moreover, with respect to the Eastern Neighbourhood, the two officials reiterated the importance of post-Vilnius implementation of the decisions on lifting the visa requirement for Moldovan citizens and of the signing, within the established timeframe (by August 2014 at the latest), of the Association Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and the Republic of Moldova. In the context, they also discussed about the situation in Ukraine and the need to promote a permanent dialogue, at EU level, with the authorities in Kyiv.

Also approached in the framework of the talks were topics of the international agenda, related to stability and security in various regions.