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Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and his Canadian counterpart Geoff Regan on Monday hailed the benefits of the trade agreement between Canada and the European Union, underscoring that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and NATO membership reinforce overall cooperation between Croatia and Canada.
Economic cooperation, notably tourism, and NATO membership are pillars of bilateral cooperation, Jandrokovic told the press after receiving Regan in Zagreb on Monday morning.
Their talks focused on the Croatia-Canada cooperation and efforts to increase Canadian investments in Croatia and Croatia's exports to Canada. In this context the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement is of exceptional importance, Jandrokovic said.
Croatia was the third country to ratify CETA. As a result, bilateral trade increased by more than 100% in the first nine months of 2018, the speaker of the Croatian parliament said.
- We are happy to see that the Republic of Croatia supported CETA, said Regan, who was on a return official visit to Zagreb. We believe that CETA is very important for the future and for job creation as well as for connections between our two countries, he added.
Jandroković and Regan described the 300,000-strong Croat community in Canada as a strong bridge connecting the two countries that have been developing their partnership for more than 25 years.
- The two countries are also connected by their membership in the Western military alliance and Canadian tourists visiting Croatia, Jandroković said, citing direct flight services from Zagreb and Split to Toronto.
Regan will wrap up his visit on Tuesday.