On the occasion of Croatia's Statehood Day, observed on June 25, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic has received congratulations to all Croatian citizens from numerous statesmen, including Pope Francis, US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of several European states, the President's office said on Sunday.
In his note, Pope Francis voiced hope that commitment to justice and peace would enable the building of a society in which every person could find their place, serenity and happiness.
President Trump said US-Croatia partnership continued to grow stronger, both within NATO, where the two countries’ troops stand shoulder to shoulder, defending the common freedom and in the economy and culture. He added that every year more and more Americans discovered Croatia’s beauties and that the US was open to Croatian students, investors and entrepreneurs in their efforts to turn their dreams of a stronger and more prosperous future into reality.
President Putin said that Russia attached great significance to cooperation with Croatia and believed that, with joint efforts, they could build mutually useful cooperation to the benefit of their peoples, in the interest of maintaining stability and security in Europe.
In his note, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier underlined that Germany and Croatia were closely linked, that nurturing bilateral relations and politically shaping the European Union remained their task, and that this joint pushing for the benefit of the two countries, their citizens and Europe would be evident not just symbolically but also concretely in 2020, when the two countries would succeed each other in chairing the Council of the EU, which he said would additionally strengthen cooperation.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella said Grabar-Kitarovic’s recent official visit to Italy confirmed the excellent bilateral relations. He added that the strong ties between Zagreb and Rome, which are even stronger after the renewal in January of the coordinating committee of the two governments’ ministers and the constant contribution of the two respective minorities, provided another opportunity to deepen relations through NATO and the commitment to EU enlargement.
Congratulations to Croatian citizens on the occasion of Statehood Day also came from presidents Alexander Van der Bellen of Austria, Prokopios Pavlopoulos of Greece, E. Alain Berset of Switzerland, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez of Cuba, Moon Jae-in of South Korea, Abdul Hamid of Bangladesh and Michel Aoun of the Lebanon.
Congratulations were also sent by kings Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrein and Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein of Jordan, Emperor Akihito of Japan and Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman.
