ZAGREB, July 8, 2019 - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who is on a two-day official visit to Switzerland, on Monday met with Swiss President Ueli Maurer and the two officials agreed that they would work so that Croatians have equal opportunities on the Swiss labour market like other European Union citizens.

Switzerland signed a bilateral agreement on 1 June 2002 with the EU, which then comprised 15 member states, regarding the free movement of persons which was followed by separate protocols for each member state.

Switzerland was bound to sign a protocol with Croatia after it joined the EU in mid-2013, but Bern refused to do so after a referendum in 2014 in which the Swiss voted for introducing quotas for workers from the EU.

Switzerland finally signed the protocol in 2016 regarding free movement of Croatian citizens which entered into force on 1 January 2017 with the condition of a transitional period of 2+3+3+2 years of extending the application of the protocol.

"What we recommended considering that Switzerland introduced the transitional period of 2+3+3+2, was that the three and a half years that it took for the protocol to be ratified (since Croatia's accession to the EU) to be deducted from that period," Grabar-Kitarović said after meeting with Maurer in Bern.

Grabar-Kitarović underscored that if the entire transitional period were to be applied that would mean Croatian citizens would be faced with restrictions in Switzerland until 2027. It is possible however to reduce that transitional period or to refrain from extending it.

"Like the president Maurer said, Croatian immigrants are exceptionally well integrated in Swiss society. There are no problems and they do not arouse those feelings that some Swiss citizens have toward immigration," Grabar-Kitarović said.

In a referendum in February 2014, 50.3% of Swiss citizens decided to support immigration restrictions.

Currently foreigners account for 25% of the country's population with Croatians accounting for 2.2% or about 31,000 residents. If residents with dual citizenship are taken into account, that number is between 70,000 and 80,000.

"Even though my population policy is well-known and I want people to remain in Croatia or for them to return, as president I am supposed to represent the equality of all citizens. In any case, mobility is good and I hope that people who live here will return to Croatia and transfer their know-how and experiences from this regulated society," Grabar-Kitarović said.

Maurer, who does not have the authority to make decisions on immigration on his own, promised to visit Croatia soon and that they would once again discuss the issue of equal status for Croatian workers.

He said that Croatia could support Switzerland during its chairmanship of the European Union in the first half of next year because Bern has still not concluded the Institutional Framework Agreement with the EU and Switzerland "will request Zagreb's assistance."

That jeopardises Switzerland's financial contribution intended to reduce economic and social differences between certain member states.

"Considering that some EU member states do not wish to recognise equivalent Swiss stock exchanges on the European market, a framework agreement on cooperation cannot be signed because Switzerland has set that as a precondition to approve a second instalment of aid to member states, such as Croatia, where cohesion is still essential," Grabar-Kitarović said.

"That aid is important for us because so far Switzerland has invested in mine clearance, particularly in forest areas as well as in rehabilitation for land mine victims and in other areas too that are exceptionally vital for Croatia's development."

The two presidents discussed strengthening economic cooperation as well education, tourism and the transfer of know-how.

Commodity exchange between the two countries last year amounted to 353 million euro while in 2018, Croatia recorded a growth in exports to Switzerland of 14% compared to 2017. The number of bed nights by Swiss tourists to Croatia is also growing and in 2018, there were 276,000 or 5% more than in 2017.

After the meeting Grabar-Kitarović met with the President of Switzerland's National Council, Marina Carobbio Guscetti. Later, Grabar-Kitarović will meet with the heads of the Croatian Catholic Mission and representatives of Croatian associations in Switzerland.

On the second day of the visit, President Grabar-Kitarović will travel to Zurich and visit the ETH Zurich Technological University, where she will meet with Croatian professors, researchers and students.

More news about relations between Croatia and Switzerland can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, June 3, 2019 - Projects by 53 NGOs from Croatia for which HRK 43.8 million is intended from two Swiss donations were presented on Monday as part of the Swiss-Croatian cooperation programme.

The projects that were chosen for co-financing should bolster sustainable development, economic and social cohesion, and Croatian-Swiss partnership for local social and economic growth and development.

As part of the projects, said Helena Beus, head of the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs, 185 education programmes for sustainable development will be held, 60 models of good practice for sustainable development in the local community will be developed, 2,000 participants will exchange experiences and know-how with Swiss partners, and 10,000 students will be included in the projects.

Beus said 36 million kuna had been contracted for project implementation so far.

Swiss Ambassador Emilija Georgieva Regamey said the cooperation between the two countries was part of Switzerland's contribution to EU enlargement, which she added was aimed at levelling the economic inequalities between the member states.

Since 2007, we have invested 1.2 billion euro in projects in EU countries and these donations for civil society are two of the 11 projects Switzerland is implementing in Croatia, she said, adding that her country strongly believed that civil society had a very important role in society.

More news about NGOs in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

Mirko Kovač, a Swiss national of Croatian origin, will spend a few days in Zagreb in late March when he will present a lecture on modern robotics which he is currently developing in Zurich. His goal is to boot the development of robotics in Croatia, reports Poslovni.hr on February 16, 2019.

Kovač will attend the conference on unmanned aerial vehicles, DroneDays, on March 26 and 27. He has already held several lectures in Croatia on future technology development and co-operation between robots and humans, primarily in the context of airborne robotics.

But now, for the first time, he will arrive as head of the new NEST Aerial Robotics Hub centre, which was established in Switzerland late last year. As the head of the Aeronautics Department of the Royal College in London, Kovač led the initiative to develop a new airborne robotics centre in Switzerland, in collaboration of the London-based college and the Swiss Federal Laboratory for Materials, Science and Technology (Empa).

The goal of Kovač’s latest project is to develop robots that can fly independently and safely among people and work on building maintenance. Kovač is one of the world's leading experts in the development of robots inspired by biology and living organisms. The initial models of his flying robots/drones will patrol, spot and repair minor failures in the buildings. Robots will fly among people and use similar technology as autonomous cars.

This is the so-called simultaneous location and mapping technology (SLAM), by which robots create three-dimensional maps of the environment they pass through, which enables them to navigate, control themselves and avoid obstacles.

Kovač's colleagues are working on the further development of autonomous drone technology. On the other hand, scientists from Empa contribute to the project with their knowledge about soft materials suitable for making robots that will fly near people.

After becoming an engineer at the University of Zurich, Kovač was further trained in robotics at Harvard and Berkeley. He received his doctorate on the robotics and then specialised in the development of small flying drones under the name of MAV, Micro Aerial Vehicles, also inspired by real organisms.

Kovač has confirmed that he is also participating in the international RoboCom ++ project, which aims to bring together the community of the world's best robotics experts. The project intends to create unique robots, designed on the basis of the scientific research of intelligence in nature, by 2030. The project is coordinated by the BioRobotics Institute Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna from Italy and includes 35 partner institutes from the most developed countries of the world.

Translated from Poslovni.hr.

More news on Croats abroad can be found in the special Diaspora section.

ZAGREB, January 24, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday arrived in the Swiss ski resort of Davos to take part in the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) which brought together political and business leaders as well as representatives of global and civil society organisations who will focus on resolving the current global challenges.

On the first day of the two-day annual meeting, Plenković will take part in two debates. The first one, called Globalisation 4.0, is an informal gathering of the world business leaders, with WEF president Borge Brende as the moderator. The second discussion is entitled The new impetus for Europe.

On Thursday, Plenković is also expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings with global business leaders, a meeting with the secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Jose Angel Gurria Trevino and CDU leader and possible future German Chancellor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

On Friday, Plenković will take part in a panel debate on creating a stronger partnership for growth and peace in the Western Balkans. He will also hold talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina Prime Minister Denis Zvizdić.

About 3,000 business, government and civil society figures have gathered in the snow-blanketed ski resort.

US President Donald Trump pulled out of this year’s event as he grapples with a partial US government shutdown.

British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron are also skipping the meeting as Macon seeks to respond to the “yellow vest” protests, while May battles to find a consensus on Brexit. The event will also not be attended by the presidents of Russia and China.

More news on Croatian prime minister can be found in the Politics section

The Swiss company ch-aviation, which deals with business reporting for the aviation industry, will invest 14 million kuna in Croatia over the next five years and open new positions in Zagreb, reports Večernji List on October 29, 2018.

Since 2016, the Croatian branch of the company is headquartered in the centre of Zagreb and has been researching and updating data about fleets, schedules and financial results of commercial carriers. The parent company has made a decision to launch additional investments in operations in Croatia, which will enable significant further growth of the branch office in Zagreb, it has been announced.

“I am extremely pleased to say that we are delighted with the results of our recent investment that has enabled us to employ about a dozen highly qualified employees in Croatia. That is why we have decided to invest in further growth of our company in Croatia,” said Thomas Jaeger, CEO of ch-aviation.

Currently open positions in Croatia include data research positions, journalists, a digital marketing and content associate, and client relations manager.

“It is sad to see that a large number of well-educated people leaving Croatia and we are pleased to be able to offer an excellent alternative to those who remain. The aviation industry is expecting further growth over the next ten years, and I think we can build the largest aviation industry data centre in Croatia,” said Max Oldorf, executive director of ch-aviation in Croatia.

Established in 1998 as an airline business data company, ch-aviation manages one of the largest and most comprehensive B2B databases in the commercial aviation industry. They have more than 500 clients, including some of the industry's most prominent names, such as the world's largest airline lease company, AerCap, aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Embraer, as well as local companies such as Trade Air. They all rely on the expertise of the Swiss company with an office in Zagreb.

In addition to the global air fleets, the company provides information on addresses, contacts and flight schedules of carriers around the world.

Interested to know more about flights to and from Croatia? Click here.

ZAGREB, March 27, 2018 - The Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds Gabrijela Žalac on Tuesday signed ten agreements on the implementation of projects under the Swiss-Croatian Cooperation Programme, worth 335.5 million kuna in total.

ZAGREB, January 23, 2018 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković will take part in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday and Friday and hold a number of bilateral meetings with world political and business leaders.

Swiss government has given approval to measures which will make Croatian citizens equal to other EU nationals regarding freedom of movement in the country.

As of tomorrow, Friday 11th March 2016, citizens of Croatia can travel to Switzerland with just an identity card.