The construction and improvement of existing interconnection infrastructure links are key elements of strong economic growth in Central Europe, is the message of a Three Seas Initiative business forum being held on 6 and 7 September in Bucharest in which Croatian companies are participating.

As announced by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), as part of the summit, on Thursday a business forum was held and was attended by a Croatian business delegation led by the HGK Vice President for Construction and Transport Mirjana Cagalj, along with nine companies: Altpro, CIO, INA, Ires ekologija, Koncar-Engineering, LNG Croatia, Transmitters and Connections, Plinacro and Rijeka Port Authority.

Trade with member countries of the Three Seas Initiative in 2022 amounted to 33.8 percent of Croatia’s total trade with the world. Initiative member countries account for 35.4 percent of Croatia’s exports, while they account for 32.9 percent of imports. Tourists from five countries of the Three Seas Initiative (Poland, Slovenia, Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary) accounted for almost 44 percent of the overnight stays of all foreign tourists in Croatia in previous years.

The Three Seas Initiative is an informal initiative that includes 12 EU member states between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The Bucharest summit brings together high-ranking representatives of the Initiative’s member states and other EU member states, the European Commission, the United States of America and other interested countries.

The primary goal of the Initiative is to stimulate the economic growth and resilience of the region through the main areas of activity: energy (decarbonization and renewable energy sources, nuclear energy and hydrogen), transport (rail and road) and digitalization (cyber security in the cloud, strategic approaches to safe, sustainable and accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence), according the to HGK.