Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic opened a German-Croatian business forum in Berlin on Tuesday, calling on German companies to increase their investment in Croatia.

“Economic relations between Germany and Croatia are good, but there is a lot of room for their improvement. This in particular refers to Croatian exports to the German market,” Grabar-Kitarovic said.

The forum is organised by the German Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW) and the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK).

Grabar-Kitarovic also highlighted the possibility of increasing direct investment. “In this year alone, we will cancel or simplify several hundred administrative procedures and obligations, which will save businesses a lot of money and facilitate doing business.”

She said that many reforms were yet to be implemented, notably those concerning public administration and the judiciary.

“I encourage my government to remove the remaining obstacles to help small and medium enterprises in realising their ideas and starting up businesses,” she said.

BVMW chairman, Mario Ohoven, noted the insufficient presence of the German SME sector in Croatia.

“We make up 99 percent of all companies in Germany, but we have almost no presence in Croatia. Something needs to change about that,” Ohoven said, adding he hoped that Grabar-Kitarovic’s participation in economic activities, such as the forum, would help raise awareness of the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises.

“My association will always be open to Croatian businesses and help in establishing contacts and paving the way for business projects,” he added.

HGK chairman, Luka Burilovic, emphasised the need to deepen economic relations, particularly in commerce and the food industry.

Germany is Croatia’s top trading partner, with the volume of their bilateral trade in 2017 standing at €5.2 billion.

“We need to take steps to make it possible for the Croatian food industry, which has a good reputation abroad, to distribute its products to German retail chains,” Burilovic said.

Grabar-Kitarovic continued her visit to Berlin by meeting with the Bundestag Speaker, Wolfgang Schauble. In the evening she is due to meet with representatives of the Croatian community in Germany.

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