Working visit by Croatian Prime Minister Plenkovic
At the joint press conference, Chancellor Karl Nehammer was very pleased with the visit of Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković: “It is indeed a great pleasure that Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković is invited today. Austria and Croatia have a long friendship and a long shared history.”
Important commercial and economic partners
“Croatia is an important trading partner of Austria, we are talking about a volume of 2.9 billion euros”, stated Karl Nehammer, highlighting the economic partnership between the two countries. Important Austrian companies are important investors in Croatia. According to the Chancellor, we have had very good experiences with mutual investments and we have a relationship of trust.
Side by side in the fight against irregular migration
But we can also remember a good partnership in other areas: «Austria and Croatia have been allies in the fight against irregular migration for many years. We have always been side by side.” There is trusting cooperation, as he himself experienced as Minister of the Interior, said Chancellor Nehammer.
The Chancellor also called for greater European commitment: “The European Union needs strong protection of its external borders. Important impulses have now been given within the scope of the Asylum and Migration Pact. Now it is a matter of giving life to everything that has been decided .”
Cooperation in the supply of liquefied gas
“Austria and Croatia are also important partners when it comes to energy and when it comes to redesigning future security of supply”, emphasized the Chancellor. Croatia very quickly implemented the port of Krk with a liquefied gas terminal, which is also important for Austria’s security of supply. “We are working intensively to become independent from Russian gas,” says Karl Nehammer. The good news is that Austria’s storage facilities are 97% full and it has been possible to develop additional capacities. As a landlocked country, Austria depends on the infrastructure of other countries, recalled the Chancellor. The port of Krk and the gas pipeline, which will run from Croatia through Slovenia and Austria to Bavaria, are of central importance here.
At the end, Chancellor Nehammer once again underlined the good relations between the two countries: “Croatia and Austria still have a lot to do in common. There are many challenges, but above all it is possible to see that through cooperation, trust mutual and from a true friendship between the two states, the future can also be shaped in a positive way. I look forward to it.”
Photos from this event are available free of charge through the Federal Chancellery’s photographic service.