ZAGREB, 17 Feb 2022 - Croatia's Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, Gordan Grlić Radman, on Thursday thanked the Bavarian State Minister for Federal Affairs and Media, Florian Herrmann, for the assistance this German province had extended to the earthquake-hit Sisak-Moslavina County.
"We consider this gesture a sign of great friendship and solidarity between Croatia and Bavaria," Grlić Radman said after their meeting in Munich.
Last year, Bavaria sent to Croatia over 70 tonnes of construction material, dozens of container homes, packages for children and other aid to help it deal with the aftermath of strong earthquakes that struck Sisak-Moslavina County, central Croatia on 28 and 29 December 2020.
The two ministers said that Croatia and Bavaria fostered very close political, economic and cultural ties, and Grlić Radman noted the role of the sizeable Croatian community in the largest German province as an important factor in maintaining bilateral relations.
Herrmann, a member of the Christian Social Union, reiterated Bavaria's support for Croatia's aspirations to join the Schengen area and the euro zone. Grlić Radman informed him about the situation in the Western Balkans, notably in Bosnia and Herzegovina where talks on the reform of electoral legislation have reached an impasse.
Grlić Radman will talk about this matter later in the day at a panel at the 57th Munich Security Conference. The conference formally opens on Friday, and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is due to attend on Sunday.
Apart from Grlić Radman and Herrmann, the panel on the Western Balkans will also be attended by the international community's High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, US Special Envoy Gabriel Escobar and Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Minister Bisera Turković.
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