Interior ministers Davor Bozinovic of Croatia and Suleyman Soylu of Turkey signed on Monday a memorandum of cooperation between the two countries' police academies, saying they were pleased with the continuation of the intensified cooperation in the fight against international terrorism, illegal migration and drug smuggling.

This is our fourth meeting in a short time, which reflects the importance of the interior and police cooperation between Turkey and Croatia, Bozinovic said.

“Croatia and Turkey nurture friendly relations without outstanding issues. Our economic cooperation is progressing, investments are on the rise, and after the opening of the Turkish Cultural Centre, cultural cooperation is rising too. We also share common security challenges, which is why cooperation intensified at the end of last year and the beginning of this year,” Bozinovic said, adding that the memorandum was “a concrete result of that cooperation.”

Bozinovic said he and Soylu also talked about illegal migration, adding that Turkey was making efforts to control illegal migration.

“Croatia understands Turkey’s position, given that Turkey is surrounded by countries where migrations originate… Croatia is trying to make a contribution through the resettlement of 200 Syrian refugees from Turkey to Croatia. However, Croatia, like Turkey, is making more and more efforts to strengthen the manpower and technology needed for the protection of its own borders from illegal migration,” said Bozinovic.

These are issues which Croatia will raise also when it chairs the Council of the EU at the start of next year, he added. “Our interest is for the EU also to appreciate the key role Turkey has in controlling migrant flows. I feel that we have succeeded in achieving that at the last few meetings of interior ministers in Brussels.”

Soylu said the signing of today’s memorandum would reinforce the cooperation between Turkey and Croatia. “This is our fourth meeting in the last few months at which we considered the continuation of cooperation in maintaining peace, security and relations in the region. I’m pleased that we share common views on issues in the region and I also thank Croatia for the support extended, which I’m confident will grow during Croatia’s European Union presidency.”