Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman on Thursday started a visit to Canada by attending a commemoration for Homeland War Victims Remembrance Day and Vukovar and Skabrnja Remembrance Day with members of the Croat community in Hamilton. 

“Today we are remembering the sacrifice of Vukovar and Skabrnja – places that we have rebuilt, as well as the victims of the Homeland War, which we won. We will never forget the sacrifice of Croatian defenders who built their lives into the very foundations of Croatia’s freedom and democracy. Today we remember the brutal crimes and the Great Serbian aggression, the thousands of victims and the immense pain and suffering,” the minister said in his address to members of the Croat community, as stated by the Foreign Ministry.

Grlic-Radman added that over the past 30 years Croatia had made great progress from the fight for survival and international recognition in the 1990s to a modern country whose flag and coat-of-arms were recognised around the world.

Speaking of the Croat community in Canada, which according to the last census numbers 130,000, Grlic-Radman said that Croats had enriched the Canadian society with their culture and customs, thanking them for what they had done and were doing for Croatia, notably after last year’s earthquake in the area of Petrinja.

The minister will continue his visit to Canada by attending a security forum in Halifax on Friday and Saturday.