Plenković attends the opening of the 'Week of Croats Abroad'

The ‘Week of Croats Abroad’ is being held in week when Croatian’s will also celebrate Statehood Day, Armed Forces Day, and Zagreb Veterans Day. According to the head of the State Office for Croats Abroad, this gives the event an additional dimension in terms reconnecting Croats living abroad with their homeland.

The inaugural 'Week of Croats Abroad' opened at the Croatian Heritage Foundation in downtown Zagreb on Monday. As decided by Croatian Parliament the event will be held every year in the last week of May. According to the State Secretary at the Central State Office for Croatians Living Abroad, Zvonko Milas, it is designed to gather Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Croatian national minority in twelve European countries, the Croatian diaspora, their descendants, and those who have returned to their homeland.

"In the coming days we want to actualize the issue of the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because the issue of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not someone else's issue, it is an issue of our own identity, history, and survival in our eternal lands. We want to show the strength of our emigration, its achievements and its contributions to the world. To open up space for returnees and immigrants to tell us why Croatia is their choice today," Milas said.

Also attending the official opening was Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who emphasized government’s efforts to strengthen ties between Croatia and Croatian communities abroad with the ultimate goal of having many of them return to their homeland.

"We have taken a number of actions in that direction, including important fiscal incentives and various programs. So that those come here not only to learn the Croatian language and get to know Croatia, but are also motivated to start their own business here, to start a family here and to ultimately strengthen Croatia in the long term, can do so. Because the issue of demographic revitalization is a horizontal issue for almost all Western democracies, and literally all European democracies. There is no nation in Europe that has a natural birth-rate that allows them to even maintain their population. Not one. Everyone is currently losing, and unfortunately we are also in that group. And that is why the role of the Croatian diaspora is precisely the pool that we would like to pay much more attention to," Plenković said.

Source: HRT