Croatian Parliament Speaker receives Albania's defence minister

Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Tuesday met with Albania's Defence Minister Olta Xhacka. The two officials described bilateral relations as traditionally friendly and very good without any outstanding issues.

Croatia's support for Albania on its European journey was also underlined as were Albania's reform efforts aimed at opening EU membership negotiations.

In addition to political support, Croatia is prepared to continue offering expert and technical support at all levels, including the parliamentary level.

A statement on strategic partnership signed in December will additional boost bilateral relations and contribute to security and peace in Southeast Europe, according to the two interlocutors.

In light of the coming 10th anniversary of both countries' accession to NATO, the officials welcomed comprehensive defence cooperation between Croatia and Albania.

Good multilateral defence cooperation, which includes cooperation through the Adrion and American-Adriatic Charter (A5) projects, should be an incentive for further strengthening of bilateral defence cooperation. In that regard, Jandrokovic an Xhacka welcomed today's signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation in the Defence Ministry.

Jandroković underlined that the Albanian minority in Croatia is an additional link in relations between the two countries.

The talks focused on improving economic cooperation which could be advanced by good transport connectivity.