There is great potential for development of economic relations between Switzerland and Croatia and it will grow even bigger when Croatia joins the European Union, Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey said in Zagreb on Monday, adding that Croatia set an example to other countries in the region.
Addressing a news conference with her host, Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, Calmy-Rey congratulated Croatia on completing its EU entry talks, saying that she was aware of how much effort had to be invested to achieve it.
Calmy-Rey is the first Swiss president to pay an official visit to Croatia. The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992 and those relations have been improving constantly since then, the two presidents said.
Croatia is Switzerland's second most important trade partner in the region, 50 Swiss companies operate in Croatia, and the 34,000 Croats who live in Switzerland have significantly contributed to the country's progress and found their second home there, Calmy-Rey said.
Josipovic said that a lot more could be done in the economic cooperation with Switzerland, with which he said Croatia was connected by a large Croat community and a peace-loving policy.
"This is not only about our wish to welcome more Swiss tourists, but also about more Swiss citizens and companies investing in Croatia," Josipovic said, adding that during today's talks he and his guest could not ignore the fact that there were obstacles and factors discouraging investments in Croatia.
Calmy-Rey, who offered Croatia congratulations on behalf of the Swiss government and people for the 20th anniversary of its independence, recalled her country's support to Croatia during the war, which consisted of humanitarian aid and today consists of assistance in mine removal and support for civil society and nongovernmental associations.
Compatible policies towards Southeast Europe, a wish for peaceful, good neighbourly relations, and the region's prospect of EU membership are the common elements of Croatia's and Switzerland's foreign policies. Josipovic said Switzerland could serve as a model to neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina in harmoniously organising a multinational state.
Calmy-Rey commended Croatia's role in the region and its promotion of good neighbourly relations in Southeast Europe whose integration in the EU she said would be a historic step that would help overcome divisions stemming from the period of the Cold War.
The meeting between Josipovic and Calmy-Rey was two hours behind schedule because the Swiss president's plane could not land at Zagreb's Pleso airport due to a heavy fog. After it left the airport in Bern an hour later due to fog, the plane with the Swiss president circled over Zagreb for an hour, landing at the airport after the fog lifted.
