Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman on Wednesday visited the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, meeting with its Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann, the ministry said in a press release.

Baden-Wuerttemberg is one of Croatia’s main foreign trade partners in Germany.

The two officials said the cooperation was excellent thanks to the activities of the mixed commission of the Croatian government and Baden-Wuerttemberg.

The two sides hold regular meetings since 2004 and they address the economy, agriculture, energy, culture, science and education.

The interlocutors said cooperation was excellent also as part of the EU strategy for the Danube river region which Croatia will chair next year. As part of this cooperation, Croatia and Baden-Wuerttemberg coordinate the strengthening of enterprise competitiveness and the development of enterprise clusters.

The two officials welcomed the intensified cooperation between twin cities such as Osijek and Pforzheim, Nova Gradiska and Mengen, Rijeka and Karlsruhe, and Vinkovci and Kenzingen.

Grlic-Radman and Kretschmann were agreed that there is room to further intensify relations and investment in IT, machinery and equipment production, and the auto industry.

Kretschmann singled out Croatia’s Rimac Automobili car company as an example of the excellent cooperation between Croatia and Baden-Wuerttemberg.

Grlic-Radman also met with the local Croatian Catholic Mission.