Upon invitation of his Croatian counterpart, Ivo Davor Stier, Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati paid an official visit to Croatia. This visit comes at a significant moment for bilateral relations as the two countries mark the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations.

During the meeting, parties praised the enhanced political dialogue and the increasing cooperation in different fields as the best premise for deepening and strengthening relations between the two countries. In this context, special attention was placed on the exploration of new opportunities for expanding economic and commercial relations, enriching the legal framework with new agreements, completing ongoing projects such as the Adriatic-Ionian Corridor, the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) and regional interconnection projects, as well as identifying new development initiatives with impact on the prosperity of the two countries.

Ministers Bushati and Stier shared their conviction that the common values and principles of our two countries will serve the strengthening of bilateral relations and promoting of Euro-Atlantic perspective of our region. “I am glad to confirm that our partnership is strategic in terms of Euro-Atlantic affiliation and concordance on a range of important issues of cooperation, security in the region and joint efforts at transforming our area into a developed one” - Minister Bushati stated.

Minister Stier praised the efforts undertaken by the Albanian government in fulfilling the key reforms in the country, focusing particularly on judicial reform and expressed the support of the Croatian government on the next step towards the start of accession talks. In this regard, Minister Bushati thanked Croatia for its continuous support in the EU integration process and expressed our interest to benefit from the Croatian experience in the accession negotiations.

The two ministers assessed that relations between Albania and Croatia have been consolidated also thanks to the role of the Albanian diaspora in Croatia, highly praised and considered by the Croatian authorities as a bridge of friendship, strong connections and fruitful cooperation between our countries.

As regards recent developments within the region, the ministers shared the same approach that both countries are NATO members with a valuable contribution in strengthening stability, security and consolidation of democratic progress in the Balkans, while expressing confidence that the spirit of trust and close cooperation will further continue to prevail in the future, to the advantage of the region where we and our people live.

Minister Bushati held special meetings with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the President of Parliament, Božo Petrov. At these meetings, parties focused on strengthening the traditional friendship between our two countries, intensification of commercial exchanges, interconnection in the Adriatic Europe and the latest developments in the region. Parties highlighted the special role that both Albania and Croatia have as NATO member countries and the contribution they provide to the Euro-Atlantic perspective of the countries in the region.