Increasing the share of industry in the gross domestic product (GDP) is one of the main goals that I will deal with in this portfolio, said the new Minister of Economy Ante Susnjar from the Domovinski pokret (DP) party on Monday.

After the first meeting of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic’s third cabinet, Susnjar said that he would begin operational work and the implementation of the announced measures from today, emphasising the “prosperity of Croatian citizens”.

“During my term of office, I will work to ensure that Croatian citizens are happier, that there is more prosperity, that they live better in Croatia and that they do not have to leave. On the contrary, they will return to Croatia,” said Susnjar, who took office at the Ministry of Economy on Monday.

He believes that a turnaround in the Croatian economy is possible, in the form of an increase in the share of industry in gross domestic product (GDP), especially in areas such as food production and the processing industry.

“Today, in manufacturing, we have much more internationally non-tradable goods produced in Croatia than internationally tradable goods, the ratio is somewhere around 70:30. We need to work on strengthening the Croatian economy in order to be competitive on the European and overall international market, i.e. to increase the share of internationally tradable goods,” said Susnjar.

With the aim of strengthening the competitiveness of the economy and “facilitating all types of business”, we will strive for tax changes and, above all, administrative simplifications, Susnjar announced. He also said that tourism is an “excellent channel” for marketing local products and that further work needs to be done on this marketing.