ZAGREB, November 25, 2020 - The foundation stone was laid for a Role 1 field hospital on the Croatian army's training ground at Slunj on Wednesday, and work began on a building for the occasional accommodation of up to 200 personnel, which is financed by the United States government with $1.7 million.

The work will be carried out by the Croatian Army Engineers Corps and US engineers.

The event was attended by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, Zdravko Jakop, the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Lt. Gen. Sinisa Jurkovic, and the US Ambassador to Croatia, Robert Kohorst.

Ambassador Kohorst said that the US was Croatia's most important strategic partner in defence and security and that their defence cooperation was a very important part of the overall cooperation between the two countries.

The construction of the two facilities will improve the living and security conditions during training, and the project is part of the successful cooperation between the US and Croatia, Lt. Gen. Jurkovic said.

Jurkovic thanked the American friends for the donation, saying that it was the result of cooperation at all levels. He particularly praised Ambassador Kohorst for his contribution.

Jakop said that the two facilities would increase the quality of life and work at Slunj, the largest military training ground in Croatia, adding that the cooperation with the US had increased the level of troop readiness and complementarity.

US ambassador hopes Croatia will opt for F-16 aircraft

Kohorst said that the US had invested $700 million in Croatia through defence cooperation over the last 10 years. He said that Croatia and the US were successfully working together both politically and militarily, as well as in humanitarian work.

The US ambassador said he was confident that the cooperation would continue, expressing a wish that in buying fighter jets for its Air Force Croatia would choose the US offer of F-16 aircraft.

As eZadar writes on the 11th of March, 2019, quite a significant number of American citizens live in Zadar and the islands belonging to Zadar County, many of these people are Americans who hold dual Croatian and US citizenship, and one of the aspects of the US Embassy's activity is to provide consular services to its citizens.

The US Embassy has recently launched an initiative called MeetUS, which aims to create a group of experts for each county that will work on extending and strengthening the activities of the US Embassy in the Republic of Croatia. Every year, a team of American and local members of staff of the US embassy will focus on one county to strengthen co-operation with local representatives of all sectors of society.

The aim of the initiative is to strengthen and maintain good relations with key stakeholders in public administration, the economy, the education sector and civil society as a whole throughout Croatia. The purpose of this particular initiative is to present the county with the US embassy staff, get better acquainted with local needs and find ways to cooperate further.

On Tuesday, March the 12th, 2019 Meeting with the Director of the Zadar Tourist Board, Mr. Mari Palek and the staff will be held in the premises of the Zadar Tourist Board at 10:30.

The US embassy staff who will come to Zadar County for an informal, working visit are:

Anja Picelj-Kosak - Media Specialist
Mirjana Pribanić - Budget Analyst
Darby Carter - GSO EPAP Officer
Željko Medić - Visa Assistant

In the light of the upcoming tourist season, and especially given the increased Croatian marketing activity on the American broadcasting market and the knowledge of booking by hoteliers and travel agencies, one of the topics to be tackled is the increasing number of American tourists arriving in Zadar and the wider Zadar County.

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