ZAGREB, March 24, 2018 - Croatian Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić called on Croats in Bad Homburg, Germany, on Saturday to intensify cooperation between Croats in Croatia and expats, saying they were their homeland's ambassadors and that their success was also Croatia's success.
She arrived there to attend an award ceremony for the most successful Croatian expats as voted by the readers of Večernji List daily in a number of categories, including sports, culture, and show business. President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović was due to attend the evening ceremony too.
"We can and should do more together," Pejčinović Burić said at the meeting. "A better Croatia is seen through your name," she said, calling on them to do more "on the development of relations with your host country and on Croatia's development." She said today's event was an opportunity to talk about their attempts to nurture their identity, joint initiatives and challenges. "Some arrived long ago. The average Croat has been in Germany 28 years, and a majority are second, third generation people," she said, adding that her ministry and the Office for Croats outside Croatia would do everything to help those who planned to stay abroad for good nurture their identity, notably the language, and improve their status.
Pejčinović Burić said she was pleased with the return to Croatia of "a good number" of second and third generation Croats from Germany and elsewhere, saying this was "very important at a time when a lot of young people are leaving Croatia."
