August the 28th, 2021 - The Croatian agritech Agrivi startup has entered into a partnership with CGES Group, which will strengthen its position on the African market.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes, the CGES group was looking for a digital solution for its clients from the agri-food industry over in Africa, and after the selection of the Agrivi startup through a new partnership, they plan to work together on projects to digitise agricultural production management in that part of the world.

''Agrivi's software is available worldwide, even in Africa, but through this collaboration, users will also receive support out in the field as the local presence will be further strengthened. Agrivi's shared knowledge and experience of digital agricultural solutions through a local partner will make it even more accessible in this area.

Through local activities, the partner will been shown all of the advantages for the digitalisation of agriculture, and we'll be able to help further develop agribusiness companies in South Africa by transforming and improving processes in agriculture and the food industry,'' they stated from the Croatian Agrivi startup.

The primary problems faced by African farmers are productivity and efficiency in achieving profitable and sustainable agricultural production, as well as stepping further afield, out into the global market.

They pointed out from the Agrivi startup that through monitoring the situations at hand with their digital tools, that farmers can simplify the certification process and facilitate market access. It's worth mentioning that the Croatian Agrivi startup operates across more than a hundred countries around the world, and their software solution is localised in a dozen foreign languages.

They have offices here in the Republic of Croatia, as well as in other European countries such as Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom. Through partners they are also present in South America, Africa and Asia, and in addition to Europe, their focus is also on the US market.

Global recognition

“Through workshops, seminars and conferences, we educate people about the digitalisation of agriculture and what the benefits for all stakeholders are, from farmers, companies to the end consumers. This summer, we also received recognition from the Food and Agriculture Organisation, which ranked the Agrivi startup among the finalists in the category of software for agricultural production management as part of the Digital Excellence in Agriculture event,'' they concluded from Agrivi.

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ZAGREB, October 29, 2019 - Europe and the Arab world need better coordination of efforts aimed at tackling migration, an issue that dominates the relations between the two blocs, it was said at the 4th European Union-Arab World Summit in Athens on Tuesday.

Our biggest challenge is migration. This issue is not restricted to geography, it is not just the Sahel, Libya, Syria, Greece and Turkey. It is spreading everywhere in the world and has become a test of our solidarity and humanity and our readiness to counter organised crime and protect our borders, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in his opening speech at the conference which brought together European and Arab leaders, including Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

Building connections among us is our response to fragmentation which is going on in the world, the Greek PM said.

Mitsotakis called for better coordination between the Europeans and the Arabs to address migrations at their source.

“We control our borders and always take in the hunted of this world. But one country alone cannot carry the problems of three continents on its shoulders,” he said.

"The only way to respond to this great challenge of the 21st century is in a coordinated manner, with due process and cooperation. We need better coordination between the Europeans and the Arabs in order to manage the causes of migration," he added, saying the countries which the refugees and immigrants fled should do more and halt human smuggling.

"More than 78,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe so far this year, more than half of them to Greece, according to United Nations data. About 40 percent of recent arrivals are families from Afghanistan and about 20 percent are Syrian," Reuters reported.

In his speech, the Greek premier called for avoiding a fragmented response to this issue, and alluding to Turkey he said that “those who magnified the refugee crisis, using the persecuted as pawns in forwarding their own geopolitical goals, should be more cautious when referring to Greece."

On the other hand, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit said that the issue of refugees bothered the Mediterranean and said that those who were trying to intervene in the Arab world should stop doing that as they only made the situation worse.

Please, go away, Gheit said adding that the Arab world had suffered enough.

Addressing the conference, Croatian Prime Minister Plenković said that today, 10 years after some of Arab countries were hit by the crisis, there was an opportunity to arrange relations in such a way as to make cooperation stronger.

Croatia, which is the next chair of the European Union, takes strong care of dialogue and partnership which is being developed between the European Union and Arab countries. However, challenges concerning the two blocs, notably migration, often dominate their dialogue, Plenković said.

The discussion about migrations has slowed down our ambitions for the Union for the Mediterranean. It is now on hold, Plenković said in his comment on the organisation that comprises 43 Mediterranean countries.

He said that the Mediterranean would be one of the priorities of Croatia's chairmanship of the European Union in the first half of 2020.

Croatia plans to organise a Mediterranean forum in the coastal city of Šibenik in that period.

On the margins of today's conference, the Croatian PM held bilateral talks with his Greek counterpart. Plenković recalled Croatia's participation in Operation Poseidon and praised the Greek authorities for coping well with the challenges of the influx of irregular migrants.

During his stay in Athens he also met Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama for a bilateral meeting and was received by Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

More news about Croatia and the European Union can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 18, 2018 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday Croatia must use the EU-Africa summit as an opportunity to improve Croatia-Africa economic relations. In the last month of its EU presidency, Austria is hosting the high ranking EU-Africa forum which brought together European and African political leaders.

Plenković said in Vienna this was a good opportunity to put together efforts of African governments and the European Union in order to strengthen and stabilise African countries, prevent crises and weaknesses of institutions and in this way prevent migration flows.

Croatia must use this opportunity to promote economic relations with Africa, Plenković said. "They are not too big trade-wise" and they are mostly active in places where Croatia has it embassies – Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, the South African Republic, Plenković said, expressing hope the summit would open new windows of opportunity for economic cooperation.

Also in Vienna are representatives of Croatian companies Končar, Altpro, B.I.D. Grupa, Velox, as well as representatives of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the government said in a press release.

The event in Vienna was organised by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who chairs the African Union this year.

Also in Vienna are European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, European Council President Donald Tusk and many European and African officials.

More news on the relations between Croatia and Africa can be found in our Business section.

ZAGREB, February 8, 2018 - Libya is calling on Croatian companies, both new and those that have already done business in that country, to return and complete their jobs, which will give them certain priority in future jobs on that market now that the situation in the country is stabilising, Libyan Ambassador to Croatia Rashed S. A. Abughuf told a Croatian-Libyan economic forum held at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) on Thursday.

New business opportunities for Croatian entrepreneurs.