ZAGREB, 20 Sept 2021 - Croats in the United States contributed to Croatia's international recognition and are today its unofficial promoters, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said in New York on Sunday, after meeting with members of the Croat expatriate community.
"The Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius here is headed by the Franciscans from Herzegovina, and the Croatian school here brings together already the third generation of U.S. Croats," Grlić Radman said, noting that this bore witness to a wish to preserve one's national, cultural and linguistic identity.
Croats "have given a major contribution to the prosperity of the U.S. society, without forgetting their own roots," he said, adding that Croat expatriates were unofficial promoters of their country, having advocated Croatia's recognition and "spreading the truth about Croatia's struggle for freedom against the Great Serbian aggressor."
The minister said that Croat expatriates in the USA had helped Croatia politically as well as by sending humanitarian assistance.
He recalled that in 2020 the Croatian government initiated an amendment of the citizenship law to make it easier for "all descendants of the Croat people" to obtain Croatian citizenship.
Asked about former president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović's having joined President Zoran Milanović's delegation on a visit to the United States for the ongoing 76th session of the UN General Assembly, Grlić Radman said that he supported "everything that is aimed at promoting Croatia's national interests."
Grlić Radman is visiting the USA from 19 to 25 September.
For more about the Croatian Diaspora, visit our dedicated page here.
