International Relations
India-Croatia Relations
- 06 Sep 2021
- 2 min read
Why in News
Recently, Foregin Ministers of India and Croatia held a meeting. Both countries asserted that they share a lot of common positions on issues like the Indo-Pacific, the situation in Afghanistan, combating terrorism and shared economic interests.
Key Points
- Highlights of the Meeting:
- Tourism is a very important area and both shall strive to expand air connectivity.
- There are a lot of opportunities in the pharmaceuticals, digital and infrastructure sectors like railways.
- Several topics of mutual interest, including EU-India relations, the situation in Afghanistan, economic and cultural cooperation and post-Covid recovery, were also discussed.
- About India-Croatia Relations:
- Croatia is an important Central European country from the point of view of its geo-strategic location, membership of the European Union and NATO, as well as being a significant Gateway to Europe through the Adriatic coastline.
- Relations between India and Croatia have been friendly since the days of the former Yugoslavia.
- The Breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s.
- Disintegration gave birth to six new countries namely: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.
- Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Yugoslavia’s President Josip Broz Tito were also pioneers of the Non-Aligned Movement.
- Croatian people have a deep interest in India. The Indology department in the University of Zagreb has existed for over six decades and an Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Hindi chair was set up there a decade ago.
