Jaishankar meets Croatian PM, FM, holds talks on bilateral cooperation, Afghanistan

Zagreb (Croatia) : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who arrived in Croatia on the second leg of his three-nation visit, on Friday said he had a very good meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and both discussed bilateral cooperation as well as the situation in Afghanistan.
Addressing the media after his meeting with his Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlić Radman, he said that this is the first visit by an Indian foreign minister to Croatia.
“But I am sure that it is a visit that will open up many more chapters in our cooperation, giving our strong and time tested friendship further momentum.”
He said he had conveyed to Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic the greetings of Prime Minister Modi and the best wishes for the 30th Anniversary of Croatia’s independence.
Jaishankar said that in the call on Prime Minister Plenkovic and in his discussions with Radman, the two sides discussed how to increase bilateral economic cooperation. “There are a lot of opportunities in the pharmaceutical sector, the digital sector, infrastructure, where, we believe that Indian companies have found in Croatia a very good platform to operate and invest in,” he added.
“There are already companies from Croatia operating in India. Some of them have secured some important contracts for example, in the railways sector,” he said.
He said India would welcome more active efforts to cooperate in the defence sector “after the agreement which is being concluded”.
On international issues both sides “share a lot of common positions and perspectives”. “It was very apparent in our discussion on Indo-Pacific, on our discussion on Afghanistan, on our resolve how to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he added.
He also said he valued the perspectives that he heard from the Croatian side about the EU, about the further prospects of the EU and the region. “I think it is very helpful for us to get a better understanding of what is happening,” he added.
Earlier, he tweeted his thanks to Prime Minister Plenkovic for the warm reception in Zagreb.
“Discussed opportunities to further expand our bilateral cooperation including in Pharma, Digital and Infrastructure. Appreciate his insights on pressing global issues, especially Afghanistan,” he said.