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President at Slovenian-Croatian meeting in Istria

Buzet, 6.7.2010  |  press release, speech


President of the Republic of Slovenia Dr Danilo Türk meets President of the Republic of Croatia Dr Ivo Josipović (photo: Tina Kosec/STA)The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk and the President of the Republic of Croatia, Dr Ivo Josipović, attended a meeting of mayors of Istria and businessmen from Slovenia and Croatia, which took place under their auspices.

In his opening address, President Türk welcomed such meetings, which enable communication, a positive climate between the two countries and mutual cooperation. He emphasised that the countries have a great many opportunities and common tasks ahead of them, as well as a shared responsibility to make progress in solving outstanding issues on the basis of mutual respect and a sense of common interests.

Croatian President Josipović also stressed that relations between the two countries have been given new impetus and remaining open issues will be solved in the spirit of good neighbourly relations. He expressed his belief that the two countries would also maintain good cooperation after the forthcoming accession of Croatia to the European Union and, as EU Member States, would protect the interests of the two countries, their citizens and this part of the world.


Address by Dr Danilo Türk, President of the Republic of Slovenia, at a meeting of mayors of Istria, deputies and businessmen from Slovenia and Croatia
Buzet, 6 July 2010


President of the Republic of Slovenia Dr Danilo Türk attends a meeting of mayors of Istria, and deputies and businessmen from Slovenia and Croatia (photo: Tina Kosec/STA)Esteemed President of the Republic of Croatia, Dr Ivo Josipović,
Distinguished guests,
Dear friends of the Slovenian-Croatian Friendship Society,

Allow me first to thank the Slovenian-Croatian Friendship Society for the organisation of today’s meeting. As the President of the Republic of Slovenia, I am participating in an initiative of this society for the third time, and I would like to tell you that all such initiatives are useful, pleasant and interesting.

Today’s initiative is interesting from at least two perspectives. This is the first meeting after the referendum in Slovenia on the confirmation of the arbitration agreement between the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia. The fact that we have chosen this time and this place for the first meeting of this kind is, of course, no coincidence, because Istria– as all previous speakers have said - is a symbolic part of this region, which most expressly shows the multiculturalism, tolerance, dialogue and friendship that has survived all the tests history created.

I would like to highlight another symbolic element today. Mr President Josipović, you are a composer. You are familiar with the counterpoint technique. In view of the weather in which we started our meeting and the state of profound calmness with which the meeting in this hall is going on, we can observe the counterpoint peculiarity of a stormy meteorological event and the very calm, concentrated political and economic climate prevailing in this hall. This seems to me very good, because we show in this way once again that even in turbulent moments we maintain calm, concentration and the ability to engage in dialogue. These are all guarantees that together we will achieve the best possible progress.

Meetings such as today’s are welcome because they enable communication, help create a positive climate between the countries and people, and mutual cooperation. We have ample possibilities and many tasks. We will need plenty of imagination and today may be a good day to give strong encouragement to all this.

The presence of a significant number of businessmen of the two countries demonstrates how well enterprises understand the importance of such events organised by the Slovenian-Croatian Friendship Society. It also additionally confirms our belief that great potential exists between the economies and the two countries for further strengthening cooperation, which, having put the arbitration agreement into effect, we will be able to develop to even greater extent.

Our cooperation is already diverse and intensive and is one of the elements that demonstrate the interweaving of the two countries, which is more than mere cooperation.

Croatia is for Slovenia and Slovenia is for Croatia one of the most important partners in the trade in goods and services, as well as in the field of direct investments. Even if there are still many outstanding issues and our cooperation, in terms of cooperation between foreign trading partners, has been affected by the economic and financial crisis, I note that many areas are generating new business opportunities and prospects to deepen our cooperation.

Given the considerable economic importance of this meeting, I would like to mention just a few: tourism, infrastructure, construction of a network of trade centres and other areas – also energy, including investments in renewable energy sources. In mentioning infrastructure, I have not missed the call to do something to improve the border crossings, to improve communication and thereby to help the economy. Our tasks concern the building of a liquid gas terminal on the island of Krk and the South Stream Project, which Croatia has joined, joint ownership of the Krško nuclear power plant and some outstanding issues in these matters, which need to be resolved.

The recent referendum confirmation of the arbitration agreement has created a new climate. It has created a climate in which we are thinking about new projects with more imagination and about old issues with high confidence that we will easily resolve them. I share the position of President Dr Ivo Josipović, who emphasises that, compared to the entire range of relations and the perspective of our mutual relations, the problems lying ahead of us are not big ones. It would be good to understand that the time has now come when a large portion of these problems, which are not big, perhaps even all of them, can be solved.

Of course, we need quality in this, which has been developed in the last year or two. We need mutual respect, the ability to compromise, the ability to negotiate, based on respect for our mutual interests and the ability to understand each other. This is the path that has brought us to the point where we are now, and this is the European path, which will lead us on into the future.

This will help our countries to remove the remaining obstacles, making more space for economic stimulus. We must develop our cooperation with a view to providing the widest possible area for economic initiative and, consequently, prepare for membership of Croatia in the European Union, because we will be in the European Union together. We will be together as two complementary economies and two countries sharing important common interests. I suggest that, as early as today, we think about how to overcome the current crisis, which is not just a financial or economic crisis for the European Union. In a certain sense, it is also the matter of institutions and political will. The institutions of the European Union, as well as its political will are being put to the test today.

It is right that Croatia is already thinking today about what the future European Union should be like. We must think about this more intensively in Slovenia, since the European Union should be such as to give good space to smaller countries, guarantee their equal voice and provide solutions that are in the interest of all. This is the European Union for which we must strive, and this is the common task that awaits us. It is not too early to think about this task.

We also have to consider common tasks to be undertaken elsewhere, in South East Europe, where we have a lot of common interests and many opportunities to develop cooperation in new paths, cooperation which will create the opportunity to link our economic potentials for appearing on third markets. This is not a slogan. Today, we are entering a new period, in which the integration and appearance of economic operators from Slovenia and Croatia and some other countries of the former Yugoslavia on third markets have become not only a possibility, but a necessity. We are small countries and countries with a tradition of economic cooperation. Until the recent past, a large part of this tradition was not being exploited. The time has now come to consider what is left of this tradition for the future and where we need to exploit the potentials that we still have, in the best possible way, pooling our efforts for the common good.

A positive trend at the conclusion of the arbitration agreement has undoubtedly relaxed relations, created more room for discussion – discussion about all matters: economic, political and other issues. These are positive processes.

At a time when the world is recovering from recession and when Europe is slowly making progress, there is even more reason to take advantage of this newly created space. We might say that we are lucky to have managed to create this new political climate at the present time; because now is the time to think about common projects more ambitiously, in terms of strategic partnerships for the future and with vision for the future.

I hope that today’s meeting will be an opportunity to start thinking about these matters. I believe that there are many among you who have already considered such questions alone or in the company of your business partners and friends. It is time we thought about it ever more collectively, more jointly, in a more organised way and, perhaps, this meeting will produce another initiative for the future.

I would also like to say the following: President Josipović talked before me about the importance of cultural ties. Yesterday, I attended the opening of the Ljubljana Summer Festival where I met quite a few friends from Croatia, who have a great many ideas of how to develop joint work in the field of cultural development and cultural events. This is extremely good. I would like the cultural contents of our cooperation to expand as much as possible and for us to undertake as many joint projects as possible.

It will be my great pleasure at the end of this week to participate in the opening of Dubrovnik Summer Games. I believe that in this area, too, we can come up with innovations, develop new ideas or projects.

In talking about all this, I am talking about possibilities. They are here. Political conditions nowadays are better than they have ever been. However, these possibilities and these political conditions also create shared responsibility – the responsibility that, on the basis of mutual respect and a sense of common interests, we make progress and resolve all issues, including issues pending from the succession of the former common state and other outstanding legal issues.

In short, we have tasks.
I would not want to enter into broader and more detailed discussion about these tasks and opportunities brought by the present time.
Allow me, though, in closing, to extend my thanks once again to the Slovenian-Croatian Friendship Society and to invite you all to think creatively, to think ambitiously and to think about our common tasks in the European Union. In this historical period, the world around us is more friendly than it has ever been. However, this world is not without danger and this world has to be created by all of us, together. Now is therefore a good time to get together and do something together.

Thank you.
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