Zoran Milanovic, as the first Croatian prime minister since Croatia gained independence, will spend 13 days in Australia and New Zealand in mid-March, visiting Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Wellington and Auckland, the government announced on Wednesday.
The first incentive for the trip came from New Zealand's PM John Key, who voiced interest in an official visit on the prime ministerial level in a letter last summer.
About 60,000 people of Croatian origin live in New Zealand, while Australia officially has a Croat population of 120,000, although estimates put it between 200,000 and 250,000.
Visiting Croatian emigrants is just one of the visits for this trip, the government said, adding that the achievement of Croatia's most important foreign policy goals provided the conditions for expanding foreign policy cooperation to other continents and potentially important economic partners.
Croatia's delegation will meet with the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand, representatives of the federal, regional and local authorities, the business and academic community, and Croatian expatriates. Seventeen official meetings and 12 meetings with the Croat community have been confirmed in the five cities Milanovic will visit.
Croatia and New Zealand will sign an agreement on a work vacation programme which will make it possible for up to 100 people aged 18-30 to leave Croatia for New Zealand annually to study or rest there and pay for their stay by working for one year at the most.
The delegation will include Defence Minister Ante Kotromanovic, who will meet with Australian Assistant Defence Minister Stuart Robert and New Zealand's Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman to discuss cooperation in the ISAF and ATALANTA missions, the security situation in their regions, the fight against piracy, and military technical cooperation.
(Hina)
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