Joint press statements

President Grabar-Kitarovic,

Dear Kolinda,

It is really a great pleasure to be here in Zagreb again and to meet with you.

And it’s a real honour to be here on the Day of Independence for Croatia.

And we are impressed by the progress you have made since you gained your independence and we are extremely grateful that Croatia is a member of NATO, helping  to strengthen our collective defence and support our shared security. 

NATO safeguards your independence and your security.  As it does for every Ally.

Croatia is a highly valued Ally, which makes many contributions to our shared security. Croatian troops serve in NATO’s battlegroups in Lithuania and in Poland. And in our missions in Afghanistan and in Kosovo.

And as you mentioned, the Croatian Navy has joined NATO’s Operation Sea Guardian for the first time. So you are also working together with other Allies to keep the Mediterranean secure. NATO has a presence in the Mediterranean with our Sea Guardian but we are also present in the Aegean Sea with naval forces, with ships, to help implement the agreement between Turkey and the EU, curbing the flow of illegal immigrants over the Aegean Sea.

I also want to thank Croatia for its financial contributions, including to the Military Transition Trust Fund in Ukraine.  Showing that you are participating and contributing in many different ways to NATO missions and operations and to our shared security.

We have just discussed the security situation in this region.  Including the elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the challenges we see also in other parts of the region, including in Kosovo and the former Yugoslave Republic of Macedonia¹. NATO remains fully committed to stability and security in this regio. And I count on Croatia to continue playing a constructive role.

I welcome the strong political support you showed during the recent referendum on the name deal between Skopje and Athens. And I have called on all political parties and leaders in Skopje to work together to seize this historic opportunity.

At our Summit in July, we had an important discussion on ensuring fairer burden sharing within our Alliance. There is now a renewed sense of urgency on defence spending, investing in modern capabilities and contributions to NATO operations. This will be the fourth consecutive year of increased defence spending. We are making good progress as Alliance, but we must do more. In Croatia, as you  mentioned, you have already stopped the cuts in defence spending. And you are now increasing defence investments in real terms. This is something we very much welcome. And we also welcome the fact that Croatia has put into law that you will invest 2% of GDP on defence by 2024. So I count on Croatia to continue to invest in defence. This is important as NATO continues to adapt to face a more unpredictable world.

So Madam President,

thank you for Croatia’s strong commitment to NATO.  And for your strong personal commitment to our transatlantic bond.

Thank you for an excellent meeting and I look forward to having dinner with you and your delegation now so we can continue to discuss how we can strengthen NATO, our Alliance and the transatlantic partnership. Thank you.