Croatia lives on peace and stability and profits by it, and should therefore not take sides without sufficient consideration, President Zoran Milanovic said during a visit to Egypt on Sunday.

Speaking to the press at the site of the former camp for Croatian WWII refugees at El Shatt, Milanovic said that security measures in Egypt were “inconceivable” compared to those in Croatia, adding that a huge number of police officers were deployed for his visit.

“Everything is focused on security here because security here is not perceived as it is in Croatia, it is not taken for granted. We, as a country, live on peace and stability,” the Croatian president said, alluding to tourism as an important source of revenue for Croatia.

“Anyone in Europe who does not understand this or behaves contrary to this indirectly does damage to us. My job is to look after the interests of Croatia, and everything else comes second,” he stressed.

Milanovic began his official visit on Saturday evening by meeting with the Egyptian minister of tourism and sharing Croatia’s experience in this sector. “This is a huge potential for our consulting firms which have knowledge.”

“Egypt is visited by 10 million tourists annually, while Croatia is visited by 20 million. Croatia is a tourist monster, and it has accumulated knowledge and experience that has a certain value,” the president said.

Milanovic said that Croatia exports only raw materials to Egypt, mostly wood, and that until recently it had a huge trade surplus with this Arab nation, until it started importing energy, which resulted in a trade deficit.

“But Croatia has tourism and makes huge amounts of money on it. That’s why we need peace and international stability. Only life is more important than that,” Milanovic said.

He drew attention to the risk of that being disrupted. “I would like people to understand this and not to take sides without sufficient thinking. Croatia charges for its security and lives on its security, history and beauty. We should always bear in mind that this is our livelihood.”

After visiting El Shatt, Milanovic met with representatives of the Suez Canal Authority, and on Monday he is scheduled to meet with his counterpart, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

The Croatian president is also due to meet with the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hanafy Gebaly.