"Visiting Croatia on July 4-5, Gallina A. Vincelette, World Bank Regional Director for the European Union, held high-level meetings with key stakeholders to discuss the country's development priorities, the World Bank's support, latest macro-fiscal developments, and evolving global challenges," state agency Hina said on Wednesday, republishing a press release they received from the World Bank.

Vincelette, who was accompanied by Jehan Arulpragasam, World Bank Country Manager for Croatia, and members of his team, met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Zdravko Maric, Minister of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, Marin Piletic, Minister of Justice and Public Administration, Ivan Malenica, and key representatives from the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, the World Bank said in a statement.

“The Government of the Republic of Croatia must be commended for its economic and fiscal performance in managing the recent challenging global developments. The authorities are also continuing to deepen integration with the EU by fulfilling all economic criteria for joining the euro area in January 2023,” said Vincelette, expressing satisfaction with the government’s progress in implementing the agenda outlined in its National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

“Effective implementation of reforms would enable Croatia to create better foundations for long-term growth and lead to a more resilient, greener, and inclusive society. The World Bank is committed to continuing to support Croatia in achieving these goals.”

During her visit, Vincelette also participated in the opening of the new Land Registry Office of the Zagreb Municipal Civil Court, financed by the Integrated Land Administration System Implementation Project, which is supported by the World Bank. The renovation was part of a program of support provided for the modernization of the Croatian land administration and management system, with the aim of improving its efficiency, transparency and cost effectiveness.

“The most visible result of our joint work has been the enhancement of land registry services. Croatian citizens now benefit from reduced time for processing land transactions, and can conduct numerous services online. Fifty five percent of requests for land services are currently made online. The modernized system will also support the sharing of land-related information among government agencies to address key development challenges, including private sector development, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk mitigation,” she said.

The World Bank official also expressed satisfaction that the World Bank was able to help Croatia in connecting historic buildings, such as the new Zagreb Land Registry Office, with modern and smart architecture and design through reconstruction.

“This paves the way for a modern and reformed judicial system and land registry, truly benefiting Croatian citizens and the whole economy,” she said.

The World Bank has been a partner to Croatia for 29 years. During this period, the Bank has supported more than 50 projects, totaling almost $5 billion, produced numerous studies, and provided technical assistance to help strengthen institutions and support the design of policies and strategies. The Bank’s current program focuses on mitigating the economic and social impacts of COVID-19, post-earthquake reconstruction, education, social policy and pensions, transport, justice, innovation, business environment, land administration, circular economy, solid waste management, science and technology, and economic development of the Pannonian region, the World Bank recalled in its statement.