“Croatia will continue to support Georgia in carrying out reforms to become a member of the European Union and NATO,” said Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković at a joint press conference with Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili.

According to Andrej Plenković, at the meeting, he and his Georgian counterpart discussed the situation in South-East Europe, Russian aggression in Ukraine and Georgia’s ambition to integrate into Euro-Atlantic structures.

Prime Minister of Croatia said his country supports Georgia’s aspirations. He went on to say that last year, European leaders decided to grant Ukraine and Moldova EU candidate status, while 12-point priorities were defined for Georgia to fulfil.

“I hope we will discuss these issues about all three countries, and in the case of Georgia, we will see progress institutionally, and we will make progress on the path of EU accession,” Andrej Plenković said.

Prime Minister of Croatia spoke about the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili’s attending the NATO Vilnius Summit and him mentioning Georgia’s two occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions.

“The political and security situation in Georgia is very demanding and sensitive. In fact, there is an administrative border from South Ossetia to Tbilisi, and it is 40 minutes away from the capital. Following our foreign minister’s visit to Georgia, we decided that Croatia and Georgia will improve economic relations; we are very close, and the dynamics and economic relations should improve,” he said.

Prime Minister of Croatia also remarked that he welcomed the representation of Croatian companies in Georgia, and the Georgian companies’ interest to export their products.

Andrej Plenković said he shared with Irakli Garibashvili the experience of harmonizing EU directives with the country’s legislation. In his words, the “discussion was constructive.”

“We will use this visit to improve our economic relations,” he concluded.