Plenković and Carney discuss strengthening bilateral relations

The Croatian Prime Minister is on a two-day visit to Canada, where on Tuesday he will watch Croatia’s Group “L” World Cup game against Panama in Toronto’s BMO Field.

On Monday Prime Minister Andrej Plenković met with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney in Ottawa, with whom he discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation. Addressing reporters ahead of their meeting Prime Minister Carney emphasized that the opportunity for cooperation between Zagreb and Ottawa is immense: "We have much to discuss, from defense cooperation and energy cooperation, to cooperation in aerospace and cultural cooperation."

For his part Prime Minister Plenković noted that trade between the two countries is on the rise: "I think that the moment is ripe, because we have seen a rise in the trade exchange between Croatia and Canada, especially with deals that our national carrier Croatia Airlines made, and the new Airbuses have been produced here in Canada, as well as in terms of export, the ship that Croatian shipyard 3 May in Rijeka has delivered to your company Algoma."

The two prime minister’s exchanged football jerseys in the spirit of the ongoing World Cup being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. In a jovial mood Prime Minister Carney noted that along with his delegation of ministers and business leaders, Prime Minister Plenković had also brought the Croatian football team to Canada: "As part of your team, you've brought one of the world's finest football teams and one of the greatest football players ever to have played the game in Luka Modrić."

During his visit Prime Minister Plenković also met with Canadian business leaders and representatives of the Croatian community in Canada.

Source: HRT