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    Croatian Finance Minister Visits Croatian American Community in Washington DC

    On April 19, 2024, Croatian Finance Minister Ph. D Marko Primorac visited Washington DC in part of a trip for the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and delivered a presentation to the Croatian American community in Washington on Croatia’s achievements over the past two years since its accession to the European Union. The presentation was located at the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Washington DC, and organized by Hrvatska Ura, the Croatian American Club based in the metropolitan area.

    Minister Primorac discussed Croatia’s key accomplishments since its accession into the European Union in 2013, including its economic progress in the Schengen and the Eurozone over a year ago with the highest credit rating in the country’s history as well as important major structural reforms undertaken and investment dynamics in the entrepreneurial space. He also mentioned that despite Croatia’s overall success story in the Eurozone, it continues to cope with lingering challenges when dealing with the economic instability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and two earthquakes that struck Zagreb and Banovina and Sisak, which ruptured the GDP growth for nearly four years.

    Since the pandemic, Croatia’s remarkable GDP per capita increase to 73% of the European average played an incredible role in Croatia’s accession into the Eurozone last year, along with additional protections with the European Stability Mechanism to prevent another economic collapse. Like the IMF, the European Stability Mechanism is an emergency funding program focusing on raising money from the European Commission budget to fund members in case of an economic crisis. These funds ensure economic resilience for nations like Croatia to recover government sectors like energy and health to improve administrative efficiency in their industry and infrastructure.  

    Minister Primorac addressed the success of Croatia’s energy resilience with the construction of an LNG terminal on the Island of Krk and the recent signing of the new gas pipeline contract to facilitate deliveries to neighboring Hungary and Slovenia. The 122 km pipeline running from Bosiljevo to Kozarac will include a pipeline from Lucko to Zabok and enable the planned expansion of the Krk Island LNG Terminal. Pipeline projects and LNG expansion are Croatia’s critical step forward to increase its natural gas capacity resilience to reduce Russian energy dependence.

    The Croatian Ambassador to the United States, Pjer Simonovic, introduced Minister Primorac and praised him for his attendance between Spring meetings with the World Bank and the IMF. He thanked the minister for providing this presentation to over 40 attendees from the local Croatian American community attendees from not only in the Washington DC area but also from Virginia, Maryland, and New York. The presentation lasted at least 30 minutes and led to a happy hour with food catered by the Croatian-German restaurant Old House Cosmopolitan Grill based in Alexandria, Virginia.  



      

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