Croatia's improvement in the Doing Business ranking confirms that the government is heading in the right direction, Economy Minister Darko Horvat said on Thursday.

He was commenting on the latest World Bank report on business regulation, in which Croatia jumped from 58th to 51st place among 190 countries.

“This is the result of the continued work and responsible policy of this government, and now we must confirm this success with further growth in the year ahead,” Horvat said at the opening of the Medjimurje Economic Forum at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Zagreb.

“The rise in this ranking reflects only some of the measures that we have implemented. In the meantime new initiatives have been launched and their results will be seen in the coming period. This is cause for optimism that the present trend of growth will continue,” Horvat said, according to a press release from the Ministry.

Horvat said he would continue working on facilitating, accelerating and simplifying business processes and creating a more stimulating business environment in Croatia.