Croats from Argentina can contribute to strengthening Croatia's demography and represent a "great potential" in terms of certain professions and jobs that are in demand in the Croatian economy, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman said in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.

Grlic-Radman met with representatives of the Argentine-Croatian Chamber of Commerce (CACIC) and emphasised that “the experience and knowledge that the Chamber has can be very important for our future definition of situations related to strengthening the demographic situation in Croatia.”

“I am thinking primarily of the great potential of various professions and skills of Croatian emigrants and their descendants who show interest in immigrating to the homeland of their ancestors, and here the Chamber can be useful with its database on the number of Croatian emigrants,” added Grlic-Radman.

He emphasised that 250,000 to 300,000 people of Croatian origin live in Argentina and that many of them have professional profiles that “are of particular interest to the Croatian Chamber of Economy, the Croatian Employers’ Association and the Association of Caterers.”

Earlier, Grlic-Radman had spoken with the Argentinian Foreign Minister Diana Mondino about the possibility of an agreement on the labour market.

On Wednesday, Grlic-Radman presented 100 citizenship certificates to Croatians in Argentina.

Although they are second and third generation Croatian emigrants, they still “feel “as Croats and Croatia as their homeland”,” said Grlic-Radman.

The Croatian minister’s three-day working visit to Buenos Aires ends on Thursday.