​IT, pharmaceutical and defence sectors crucial for boosting Croatia-India cooperation

Possibilities for advancing economic cooperation between Croatia and India are great, notably in the IT, tourism, farming, textile and leather processing, pharmaceutical, energy and defence industries, heard a Croatia-India business forum, held in Zagreb on Wednesday.Possibilities for advancing economic cooperation between Croatia and India are great, notably in the IT, tourism, farming, textile and leather processing, pharmaceutical, energy and defence industries, heard a Croatia-India business forum, held in Zagreb on Wednesday.

The forum was organised by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) in cooperation with the Indian Embassy in Zagreb and India's chambers ASSOCHAM, CII and FICCI, on the occasion of the official visit of Indian President Ram Nath Kovind to Croatia.

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said that year after year Croatia was recording a permanent growth in the number of arrivals and overnights made by tourists from India, adding that last year the number of tourists from India visiting Croatia increased twenty times in comparison with 2011.

"I would like to see the economic cooperation between our countries recording the same growth," Grabar-Kitarovic said, adding that Croatia was a country of big development potential.

Croatia treats local and and foreign investors the same and in order to increase Foreign Direct Investments and make its economy competitive, the county is continuously advancing its legal framework for the promotion of investment, Grabar Kitarovic said, urging Indian business people to look into Croatia's investment comparative advantages and investment stimulation measures.

Grabar-Kitarovic said there were numerous possibilities for the two countries to boost their economic cooperation, notably in the IT, shipbuilding, pharmaceutical and transport sectors, especially through the northern Adriatic Port of Rijeka.

Grabar-Kitarovic said she would also love to see India and the European Union sign a free trade agreement and in that context she expressed hope negotiations on that agreement would be renewed. Along with bilateral agreements on economy cooperation, the free trade agreement would secure a legal framework for further development of economic cooperation between Croatia and India.

Indian President Kovind agreed Croatia and India had numerous possibilities for advancing their economic ties, notably in technology, tourism, infrastructure, energy and defence, as well as in the pharmaceutical industry.

Our demands are high and I call on Croatian companies to use their opportunity, Kovind said.

HGK president Luka Burilovic said Croatia's trade with India in 2018 barely exceeded US$ 160 million with Croatia's exports dropping 23% to only US$ 13 million.

Several cooperation agreements which are meant to boost economic cooperation between Croatia and India, were signed during the business forum.

Some 100 Croatian and 30 Indian companies attended the forum at the HGK premises. (Hina)

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