The President of the Republic, Zoran Milanović, participated on Tuesday in Washington, together with all the heads of state and government of NATO members, in the ceremonial commemoration of the 75 years of NATO's existence, which also started the annual summit meeting of the Alliance. The ceremony held in the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium - and on the eve of today's meeting of heads of state and government of NATO members - was used to recall the reasons and history of the founding of NATO, as well as the role of the Alliance today, which was discussed at the ceremony by the President of the USA and Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Along with President Milanović, the ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of NATO was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Ivan Anušić and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman, who are also members of the official delegation of the President of the Republic to the summit in Washington.
On the first day of his official stay in Washington, President Milanović together with his wife Prof. Dr.Sc. Sanjom Music Milanović was also at the reception for the Croatian-American community and American friends of Croatia organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in the USA. President Milanović addressed the numerous guests and emphasized the reputation and importance of the Croatian community in America. "I will not go into the internal political issues of Croatia, because they mainly serve to separate and disunite. There are things we agree on and there are things we disagree on. However, when I see in front of me such an advanced and successful community of people who gather here just for the simple opportunity to drink together and think about Croatia, it fills my heart with optimism and the conviction that all that I have been doing for years was not in vain", said, among other things, President Milanović.
Finally, President Milanović specially greeted the mayor of Biloxi, Andrew Gilich, who traveled all the way from Mississippi just to attend the ceremony. In this sense, he expressed his gratitude to Mayor Gilich for his arrival, stressing the importance of such meetings for strengthening ties and deepening understanding between nations.
The President of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Ivan Anušić and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, Lieutenant General Tihomir Kundid, who also arrived in Washington for the NATO summit, were also present at the reception at the Embassy.
On the sidelines of the NATO summit, President Milanović met on Tuesday with the President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, with whom he discussed Kosovo's efforts related to Euro-Atlantic integration. President Osmani thanked President Milanović for clearly and firmly supporting Kosovo on its path to membership in NATO and other international organizations. They also discussed current events in Southeast Europe and confirmed their mutual commitment to continue deepening relations between the two countries.
Source and photo: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia
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