Three important agreements on cooperation between Croatia and Egypt signed in Cairo

The Prime Ministers of Croatia and Egypt, Andrej Plenković and Mostafa Madbouly, confirmed today in Cairo the friendly and partnership relations between the two countries. They also discussed further strengthening of economic cooperation, cooperation within the European Union, and the global security situation, in particular the need to establish a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East after the war between Israel and Hamas. The focus of this official visit is economic cooperation, and Prime Minister Plenković expressed his satisfaction that representatives of about 20 Croatian companies, who participated in the Business Forum, were also traveling with him. The aim of the Business Forum is to strengthen existing business relations and establish new ones, Prime Minister Plenković said.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is on an official visit to Egypt, where he met with the government leadership today and participated in the Business Forum.
 
After the meeting of the delegations in the presence of the two prime ministers, Andrej Plenković and Mostafa Madbouly, several bilateral agreements were signed.
 
Executive Program for Cultural Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt for the period 2025-2028; the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Economy and the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones of the Arab Republic of Egypt; and the Agreement on Cooperation between the Port of Alexandria and the Port of Rijeka.
 
In a statement to the media after the meeting, Prime Minister Plenković pointed out that the focus of the conversation was on bilateral relations, historical ties between Croatia and Egypt, and political dialogue.
 
Strengthening political and economic relations between Croatia and Egypt
 
"It is excellent that today we have signed three important agreements on cooperation in the fields of culture, investment and cooperation between the ports of Alexandria and Rijeka. We emphasized the importance of trade between the two countries, the connection of the Suez Canal with the port of Rijeka, one of the deepest in the northern Adriatic, strategic for Croatia's role as a transport and energy hub in that part of Europe," said Prime Minister Plenković.
 
The focus of this official visit is economic cooperation, and Prime Minister Plenković expressed his satisfaction that representatives of about 20 Croatian companies, who will participate in the Business Forum, have arrived with him.
 
This is an opportunity to continue existing business partnerships, but also to open new business opportunities for entrepreneurs.
 
Speaking about broader cooperation, Prime Minister Plenković emphasized that Croatia supports the implementation of the Strategic Partnership between the EU and Egypt and added that the European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, will play an instrumental role in this.
 
Egyptians among the top ten foreign workers in Croatia
 
They also discussed the security situation in the world, especially the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the necessity of achieving a just peace that will respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as the situation in the Middle East, namely Egypt's plan to help rebuild Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas. In this context, he added that Croatia supports the concept of a two-state solution.
 
The Prime Minister also briefly presented the current international position of Croatia, a member of Schengen, the eurozone, the European Stabilization Mechanism, and soon the OECD.
 
He said that Croatia has a dynamic labor market and that situation requires a large number of foreign workers and in that context added that Egyptian workers are among the top ten.
 
Finally, he recalled that yesterday he laid a wreath and visited the El Shatt cemetery on the Sinai Peninsula, where there was a refugee camp complex where refugees from Dalmatia lived at the end of World War II.
 
He announced that tomorrow he would visit Alexandria and give a lecture at the Library of Alexandria, the most famous library of the ancient world that had a strong influence on the development of science and culture.
 
Strengthen existing economic cooperation and establish new business relationships
 
Speaking at the opening of the Business Forum, Prime Minister Plenković emphasized that it is an opportunity to further strengthen economic cooperation, and especially trade exchange, between the two countries.
 
He pointed out that Croatia, independent for almost 35 years, has achieved almost all of its strategic goals.
 
In addition to membership in the European Union, it is now part of a deeper integration through membership in the eurozone and Schengen.
 
In the past nine years, it has been rapidly catching up with more developed members and has now reached 78 percent of the development average, compared to 62 percent in 2016, at the beginning of this Government's first term.
 
In absolute terms, GDP has almost doubled during that period, the Prime Minister added, and salaries and pensions have increased significantly. 
 
In times of crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and subsequently by the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the Government has provided generous support and assistance measures to citizens and the economy, subsidized the prices of energy and petroleum products, and managed to preserve social cohesion.
 
Croatia is currently nearing the end of negotiations on membership in the OECD, the only remaining global organization that it can still join.
 
Prime Minister singled out the National Development Strategy as the most important part of the reform process, which is very effective in achieving goals. He also highlighted the four basic lines of action of the Government - demographic revitalization, green transition, digital transformation and education.
 
In the context of attractiveness to investors, the Prime Minister pointed out that Croatia has reached the historic level of A investment credit rating according to all three global agencies, which speaks of confidence in the direction of public finance management.
 
This also helps the private sector in achieving its goals, he emphasized.
 
The goal of this business forum is to strengthen existing business relationships and establish new ones, Prime Minister Plenković said, and the agreement on avoiding double taxation will contribute to this.
 
Finally, he invited the Egyptian Prime Minister and Egyptian businessmen to a return visit to Croatia.
 
Prime Minister Plenković also met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hanafy El Gebaly. They discussed the possibilities of strengthening parliamentary cooperation between Croatia and Egypt, as well as in the areas of energy, culture and tourism.
 
The Mediterranean dimension of cooperation was also discussed, especially in the context of the new Mediterranean portfolio in the European Commission, which is in charge of Dubravka Šuica.
 
They also exchanged views on the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East.
 
Continuation of the EU-Arab League dialogue
 
Prime Minister Plenković and the Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Abdoul Gheit expressed their support for the continuation of the EU-Arab League dialogue.
 
At the meeting, they also discussed the situation in the Middle East, agreeing that two states are the only long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
 
"We hope for the revival of the political process," the Prime Minister said on the X platform, recalling that Croatia has sent humanitarian aid to Gaza, including a food donation.
 
They also discussed the situation in Ukraine and current efforts to achieve a long-term and just peace.
 
El Shatt is an important page in the relations between Croatia and Egypt
 
Yesterday, at the beginning of his official visit to Egypt, Prime Minister Plenković laid a wreath and visited the El Shatt cemetery on the Sinai Peninsula, where there was a refugee camp complex where refugees from Dalmatia lived at the end of World War II.
 
He said that more than 850 of them died during their stay in Egypt.
 
"This is an important page in the relations between Croatia and Egypt, but also in the memory of our people in Dalmatia, who then, in the whirlwind of World War II, showed great strength, resilience and determination in practically desert conditions. And that is why we have come to show them respect and reverence today," said Plenković.
 
We are using this visit, as he said, to strengthen political and economic relations between Croatia and Egypt, as well as to strengthen our Mediterranean orientation.

News