ZAGREB, December 14, 2019 - Croatia is making strong progress in meeting all the criteria for the US Visa Waiver Programme, Croatian Interior Minister Davor Božinović, who is on a visit to Washington this week, said on Friday.
The minister said Croatia had managed to reduce the number of declined visa requests from 5.9 percent to 4.02 percent.
Under the US law, the percentage of declined visa requests exceeding three percent makes it impossible for a country to be admitted to the USA's Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Once this percentage goes below that threshold, talks about cancelling visa requirements can be launched.
Božinović stressed Croatia had been systematically dealing with this issue for nearly two years.
He underlined that Croatia would soon sign the Air Marshalls Agreement with the United States, given that earlier this year a direct flight between Dubrovnik and Philadelphia was launched.
Božinović said that also important for waiving US visas for Croatian citizens were agreements that Croatian Justice Minister Drazen Bošnjaković and US Attorney General William Barr signed on Tuesday whereby Croatia and the US regulate mutual legal assistance and extraditions.
Bošnjaković also visited the FBI academy in Quantico and the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Office of Training.
More news about relations between Croatia and the USA can be found in the Politics section.
