ZAGREB, 28 June 2022 - Croatian Interior Minister Davor Božinović met in Washington on Monday with high officials of the US departments of defense and justice ahead of a meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday.

Božinović began his United States tour by meeting with Assistant Defense Secretary Celeste Wallander at the Pentagon.

They confirmed the two sides' readiness to cooperate further and continue with all the necessary allied measures against the Russian aggression on Ukraine.

They expressed the wish to continue the transatlantic cooperation and the need for strong engagement in the stabilization of Western Balkan countries, notably Bosnia and Herzegovina, including ensuring the continuation of the peace operation there.

"Maintaining US-EU unity and partnership is of key importance, which is also the clear position of the US administration, notably in light of the aggression on Ukraine. We are all aware that this crisis will not be short and that there will be challenges we must solve together in order to maintain the democratic order and the shared way of life," Božinović said.

"I'm sure that in the coming period the US and the EU, with Croatia's active role as a member of Euro-Atlantic institutions, will pay special attention to Southeast Europe, stability, and democratic development," he added.

Božinović then met with Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco at the Department of Defense.

They concluded that the bilateral cooperation in security is strong and that Croatia and the United States have the same goal, to strengthen the security environment and the rule of law.

"Strengthening transatlantic ties is of exceptional significance, first and foremost the cooperation in the fight against terrorism, organized crime, in cyber security and electronic evidence exchange," said Božinović.

Croatia has committed to cyber security cooperation by joining the US Counter Ransomware Initiative.

"The common goal is further cooperation in insuring electronic evidence, which will be regulated by adopting the Umbrella Agreement between the US and the EU," Božinović said.

On Tuesday, before meeting with Mayorkas, he will meet with Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus and Assistant Secretary of State Julieta Valls Noyes.

The Croatian minister will wrap up his Washington visit by talking with Coast Guard Vice Commandant Steven D. Poulin.

For more, check out our politics section.

ZAGREB, 21 Aug, 2021 - There are 1,529 asylum seekers in Croatia, most of them from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria and the highest number of asylums were obtained by Syrians, Vecernji List daily wrote on Saturday.

According to data provided by the Croatian Interior Ministry, of the 1,208 asylum seekers in the first six months of 2021, more than a half were from Afghanistan (692), followed by those from Iraq (116), Iran (105), Turkey (66), Syria (60) and Pakistan (37).

Croatia granted asylums and subsidiary protection to approximately 1,000 people. The highest number of asylums was granted to Syrians, namely 457 and another 84 people from Syria were granted subsidiary protection. Among top five states to whose citizens asylums were granted are Iraq (109), Afghanistan (39), Iran (38) and Turkey (26), while subsidiary protection was granted the most to the citizens of Syria (84), Afghanistan (17) and Somalia (15).

The interior ministry said it was impossible to give the exact number of people granted international protection and currently living in Croatia as the number varies on a daily basis because people with passports have the right to freedom of movement, and they can leave Croatia any time they want.

There are twice as many men than women among people granted with asylum or subsidiary protection, most of them of the age between 18 and 34, followed by underage boys.

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