United States Deputy Secretary of State William Burns has said that the U.S. Administration will do its best to abolish visa requirements for Croatia which he has praised for having made considerable progress and for having set a model to other countries in southeast Europe.
We understand the importance of that matter for Croatia. We share the commitment with you and we will try to make sure that Croatia enter a group of visa-waiver countries, Burns said at a news conference in Zagreb on Sunday after his talks with Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusic.
He recalled that Congress was currently considering the visa regime liberalisation and the visa waiver program.
Croatia has made serious progress in that regard. Maybe, one question still remains open. We should wait. We will do all we can to make sure that Croatia may participate in that program, said the U.S. official who was also in Zagreb six months ago.
This time he stopped in Zagreb after he toured other countries in the region: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.
He said that during 20 years of its independence Croatia had entered NATO and was on the threshold of its accession to the European Union which was why Croatia was a model to all its neighbours aspiring to join Euro-Atlantic integration processes.
I believe that all countries will work on their candidacies and meet the assumed requirements. At my talks I pointed out Croatia as a model to other countries in the region, Burns added.
He called on Croatia and its neighbours to continue working on the remaining unresolved issues, including refugee returns and their property restitution.
Burns described the relations between Croatia and his country as an extremely strong and partnering relationship.
According to him, the United States appreciates Croatia's engagement in the peace missions, ISAF in Afghanistan and KFOR in Kosovo, as well as its participation in UN operations.
He added that Washington also appreciated Croatia's position on the Holocaust, as shown during a recent visit by Croatian President Ivo Josipovic to Israel, and the country's efforts regarding the restitution of property of Croatian Jews, victims of the Second World War.
The U.S high-ranking diplomat expressed support to the Croatian government's economic reform. Burns said that he believed that conditions for investing into Croatia would improve and that the next Ron Brown business forum, set for April, could help in that regard.
Minister Pusic said that the visit of the U.S. official was the proof of the excellent relations between Croatia and the United States.
The topics on the agenda of her meeting with Burns were bilateral topics as well as Croatia's future role in the southeast of Europe, and the transfer of Croatia's experiences in reforms and in the preparations for EU membership to other countries in the region.
