ZAGREB, January 17, 2020 - At the end of his two-day visit to Germany on Friday, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković expressed satisfaction with the visit, adding that he hoped Croatia's participation in the International Green Week Berlin agriculture fair, at which it is the partner-country, would additionally strengthen the two countries' economic relations.
"We used our visit to Berlin to attend the Green Week fair, where Croatia, as the partner-country, is represented by close to 50 exhibitors. The case of Finland, which was the partner-country last year, shows that after the fair it increased the export of its farm products by 50%. That is why we expect (the event) to encourage our farm producers as well," said Plenković after touring Croatian stands at the fair.
He said that the first reactions to Croatia's participation in the fair were very positive.
Before Plenković's visit, German Agriculture Minister Julia Cloeckner visited the hall where Croatian farm producers put their products on display.
Plenković gifted Berlin Mayor Micheal Mueller with an olive tree.
Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) head Luka Burilović expressed hope Croatia's participation in the fair would boost the export of Croatian agricultural produce.
"Currently we export more than 2 billion euros worth of farm products, and we can and must export much more. The Green Week is an excellent platform to increase those figures. More than half a million people from around the world will visit the fair and we want to show all of them that apart from quality tourism we also have a good cuisine and that our agriculture has a long tradition as well as great potential," said Burilović.
Commenting on his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, Plenković said that the meeting was very good and that they discussed many topics, such as Southeast Europe as well as global and European issues, considering that both Croatia and Germany were chairing the EU this year.
He repeated that he expected the EU-Western Balkan summit to be held in Croatia in early May to define the course of events in the years ahead, noting that one should stop using euphemisms from the past such as 'potential candidates' or 'European prospects'.
"That is important, but we want a political debate and to bring to the fore elements that have not been emphasised so far, such as economic governance," he said.
More agriculture news can be found in the Business section.
