ZAGREB, 1 Feb 2022 - Croatia and the United Kingdom stand side by side in supporting the right of sovereign states to choose their destiny, the visiting Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, said in Zagreb on Tuesday.

During his official visit to Zagreb, the U.K Defence Secretary and his host, Croatian Defence Minister Mario Banožić, discussed the security situation against a backdrop of growing tensions in Ukraine and the build-up of Russian troops along the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Croatia and Great Britain stand side by side in defending the right of sovereign states to choose their destiny, said Wallace during a news conference in Zagreb on Tuesday while U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson travelled to Kyiv for an official visit to Ukraine.

What is chosen is of secondary importance in relation to the sacred right of choice a sovereign state is entitled to when it comes to its security, Wallace added.

This is a value and right worth advocating, said Wallace, admitting that in the last 18 months he only had a brief four-day holiday and spent those four days on the Croatian island of Korčula.

NATO, the EU and the U.K. are absolutely united in the support to Ukraine's sovereignty, and the Russia-Ukraine crisis must be solved through dialogue, he said.

Banožić said that Croatia could fully understand the current situation of Ukraine, and in this context he recalled Croatia's recent struggle for its independence and its territory.

The two officials signed an agreement on strategic partnership between their departments and the deal regulates the strengthening of the relations within NATO, in the Western Balkans and in coping with the hybrid threats as well as on cooperation in upgrading the interoperability of the two countries' armed forces.

The two ministers called for the continuation of dialogue in the Western Balkans and also pointed out the importance of reforms and the further integration of that region in the EU and NATO.

Wallace reiterated British support to efforts of those two alliances to help restore stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and address the problems bothering Croatia, Serbia and other partners.

Wallace was also received by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

April 14, 2021 - With the season approaching, the question on everyone's mind is will traveling during the coronavirus pandemic to Croatia bring problems for tourism in the country?' A light at the end of the tunnel still might be possible.

While many high-reputation magazines regularly praise Croatia as a top destination, this summer, the season will be only as strong as the health situation regarding coronavirus – both in Croatia and abroad, from where the country welcomes as many tourists as possible. Sadly, as Croatian National Radiotelevision (HRT) reports, due to the bad pandemic situation, many European countries, including Croatia, are canceling the travel season.

While, as we reported on TCN, many flights are returning and coming to Croatia, the measures are possibly demotivating travelers.

HRT says Croatia is declared as a highly-risked country in Germany, and returning citizens need to show a negative test that is no older than 48 hours which is a change to previous arrangments when Germans could test after returning home.

„The English planned to allow traveling from May 17 but tour operators and others don't have a big number of reservations to make it profitable so everything is postponed until June 24“, said hotelier  Domagoj Tomasović to HRT. 

British tourists were indeed expected mid-May, but as Darija Reić, director of the Croatian Tourist Board in London, said on the "Good Morning Croatia show" on HRT, there are still fines for non-essential travel.

„Travelling outside of UK is still illegal if you don't travel for essential reasons which include traveling for business, education or medicinal purposes. Otherwise, it's possible to be fined 5000 pounds“, explained Reić, as noted by Turizmoteka.

Tonči Glavina, state secretary for Tourism ministry, said for HRT that the UK is not alone in sending a message to its citizens to not travel anywhere and went on to say that may not be bad for Croatia.

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While the UK stands better in the percentage of vaccinated people than Croatia, Croatians are focusing on reaching the green zone by the end of May. Seventy thousand vaccinated workers in the tourist sector are the goal for the country.

„If that doesn't happen until the start of the season, then we need tests and it would be good if tourist board make testing zones and if we co-finance the expenses of testing to our guests“, concluded Tomasović.

The Ministry of Tourism already secured 20 million kuna to co-finance testing for tourists if Croatia doesn't reach the green zone.

PCR tests currently cost 500 kuna; quick antigen test is 150 kuna, and the translations of the results to English is 125 kuna. Twenty tourists were already tested in Zagreb on Tuesday. 

Learn more about coronavirus: news and travel in Croatia on our TC page.

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Close cooperation between Britain and Croatia as Cambridge University students join forces with the Fortenova Group.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of April, 2019, consultants from the University of Cambridge are working on a project to find the best solutions in the field of artificial intelligence and automation for Fortenova's operative companies. It seems that Croatia's Foretnova, the former Agrokor, is entering a new era indeed.

Fortenova Group's values ​​also include a leading role in the implementation of new technologies and cooperation with leading educational institutions in Croatia and across the world. Within this direction, Collaboration with the University of Cambridge, whose team of consultants, presented selected solutions in the field of artificial intelligence and automation to the management of the operative companies of the Fortenova Group. At the same time, companies with great potential to be partners of Fortenova in this area were presented.

Today, artificial intelligence and automation are used in 40 percent of large retail chains and consumer goods manufacturing companies, and it is expected that by 2021, their share will grow to as much as 80 percent. Since these solutions have a significant impact on both revenue and company operating costs, their implementation is totally unavoidable in any company that wants to really be competitive and a have a chance at being a market leader.

Therefore, Fortenova's management has started collaborating with the esteemed British Cambridge University in order to find proper solutions in the field of artificial intelligence and automation that have the greatest potential.

The collaboration of Fortenova's management team and a team of consultants from the University of Cambridge resulted in a detailed review of the international ''ecosystem'' of artificial intelligence and automation and a short selection of potential solutions, and after that, a meeting with the management teams of Fortenova's operative companies and an attempt at identifying the solutions with the greatest potential for application in those companies in the future took place.

Preferred solutions come from the field of image recognition, frameworks, image optimisation, shop-based optimisation on customer-led shopping, advanced customer analytics, which are focused on personalised access and micro segmentation, an extensive insight into market trends and the needs of consumers, and finally, inventory management optimisation. The team of consultants from the University of Cambridge will elaborate business cases for selected solutions in the next stage, followed by the implementation of the chosen pilot project.

Dragan Mrkajić, Fortenova's strategy director said on this occasion: "This cooperation supplements Fortenova's values, which wants to be a leader in the implementation of new technologies and to broaden its cooperation with educational institutions both in Croatia and the rest of the world. As leaders in its business areas, we're privileged to be able to cooperate with Cambridge University's MBA study consultants, as this business management study is considered to be the world leader in education. I consider this cooperation to be extremely productive and useful to our company, as it will definitely bring added value to our way of selling our products and the services we offer to our customers, as well as our supply chain.''

Ivan Babić, director of Fortenova's transformation, expressed his satisfaction with selected solutions: "The quality of final solution choice largely depended on the fact that consultants from the MBA study at the University of Cambridge were able to gain a comprehensive understanding of the way Fortenova does business. This was of crucial importance to the success of the project, including its organisational structure, its business objectives, its operational business and its product portfolio. The project has brought significant benefits to both sides in understanding key global trends, players, and case studies where artificial intelligence has improved business performance in the retail and food industry.''

Antonija Kožul, senior project manager at Fortenova, said: "The gathering together of the best talent and the most advanced technologies together with the enthusiasm of Fortenova's operative companies in their adoption make up the fundamental values ​​of our group. This project is about just that and this is precisely why I consider it to be a privilege that I'm the head of it."

Chayanika Ranasinghe, an MBA consultant from Cambridge University, described the collaboration as follows: "I was very interested in participating in this unique transformation which the Fortenova Group has begun to work on, with a highly motivated and dynamic team.''

Shuntaro Horiuchi, an MBA consultant from the University of Cambridge said on this occasion: "The Fortenova Group's project is striving to introduce new value in established and sophisticated work based on the latest technologies. I'm excited to have had the opportunity to take part in this ambitious project and I expect that this opportunity will accelerate further increase of value for buyers.''

Slaven Štekovic, an MBA consultant at the University of Cambridge, also stressed the regional impact of the project: "The focus of the Fortenova Group's introduction of state-of-the-art technologies in its business to enhance value for its customers was a key factor which motivated me to join this dynamic and intellectually stimulating environment. Along with the experience I've gained at the core of some of the leading high tech innovation projects, I recognise the tremendous value of cooperation with such an influential company in building a pilot project for the entire region of Central and Eastern Europe, and South East Europe.''

This project is the beginning of collaboration between Croatia's Fortenova Group and Britain's University of Cambridge, which will continue in the future through the transfer of knowledge, experience and the best business practices.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more.

More details announced about the royal visit.