ZAGREB, October 3, 2019 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and representatives of Slovenia's ethnic Croat community agreed on Wednesday that it was necessary to continue to work on having Ljubljana recognise the status of Slovenian Croats as an ethnic minority, the Croatian government reported.

Plenković received in Zagreb for talks representatives of the Croat communities from Slovenia and Montenegro, which has defined the status of its Croat community.

"While Croats in Montenegro have the status of an ethnic minority, the status of ethnic Croats in Slovenia is undefined. That is why the need was expressed to continue activities on defining their status," the government said after the meeting.

A commission in charge of the status of Slovenian Croats was formed in February 2018 with the aim of coordinating activities contributing to the preservation and promotion of Croatian identity, defining the status of ethnic Croats and recognising the Croat ethnic minority in Slovenia, the government added.

The PM said that a summit meeting of leaders of EU and Southeast European countries, to be held in Zagreb next year, would provide an opportunity to do something about the settlement of outstanding issues in relations with neighbouring countries.

He also said that he expected the continuation of activities that would enable the institutional, financial and project support for the preservation of Croatian identity in Montenegro.

The Montenegrin Croat delegation also held talks with Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković.

More diaspora news can be found in the dedicated section.