Two senior level British visits to Croatia in the latter half of April will further strengthen the excellent relationship between the two countries, according to top-ranking ministry officials from the two countries. The visits were part of a tour to countries with highly regarded and professional armed forces with which the UK wants to intensify its ISAF relationships.

On 21 April, LTG Peter Wall, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff - Operations, and Simon McDonald, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, discussed possibilities for military cooperation with their counterparts in the Croatian Ministry of Defence. Later in the week, the Rt. Hon. Baroness Ann Taylor, Minister for International Defence and Security, met with officials of the Croatian ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs, as well as the President’s Cabinet, to build on the first visit and discuss challenges facing NATO, such as terrorism.

‘Croatia’s membership in NATO is not just important to Croatia, but to the region and to NATO, as a whole’, said Minister Taylor at a press conference held at the Foreign Ministry on 24 April. Additionally, she told the press corps that the United Kingdom ‘admired the professionalism of the Croatian armed forces’, which can contribute greatly to NATO’s goals.

Minister Taylor also thanked her Croatian hosts for acknowledging the role that the UK has played in Croatia’s NATO and EU accession processes, stating that the UK is ‘more than willing to assist Croatia in the implementation of reforms that will ease its way into full EU membership’.