Croatia Announces its Readiness to Import Iraqi Oil During Talks Between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein with Gordan Grlić 

The delegation of the Republic of Iraq, headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, held a meeting with the Croatian delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman, at the Croatian Foreign Ministry’s headquarters in Zagreb, on October 22, 2024. As part of strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.

At the beginning of the meeting the Croatian Foreign Minister expressed his appreciation and thanks to this historic visit, as being the first of its kind by an Iraqi Foreign Minister to Croatia, noting that Minister Hussein met with the Croatian Prime Minister to discuss issues of common interest.

Minister Radman congratulated Minister Hussein on the opening of the Iraqi Embassy in Croatia, indicating that this step represent an important progress toward strengthening bilateral relations across various areas. 

On his part Minister Fuad Hussein extended his thanks for the warm reception, describing his meeting with the Croatian Prime Minister as productive and constructive, and stressed Iraq’s commitment to develop cooperation in various areas.

The meeting touched on facilitating the procedures of granting visas to Iraqi citizens, which would contribute to enhancing tourism and developing economic cooperation, with attaching special importance on supporting businessmen from both countries.

Furthermore, Minister Fuad Hussein appreciated Croatia’s supportive stance towards Iraq in its war against terrorism, commending its participation in the NATO training mission. The two sides also discussed ways to enhance cooperation in the security and military fields.

His Excellency Minister Hussein stressed Iraq’s willingness to form a joint political committee from which specialized subcommittees would emerge to enhance cooperation in various sectors, and expressed his aspiration to expand cooperation in the cultural and educational fields, announcing Iraq’s readiness to open the door to scholarships for Iraqi students in Croatia, and to receive Croatian students in Iraqi universities.

On his part, Minister Radman expressed his country’s readiness to organize a forum for businessmen to enhance economic cooperation, in addition to Croatia’s readiness to receive oil from friendly countries. The Croatian Minister thanked Minister Hussein for raising the issue of oil relations in his meeting with the Croatian Prime Minister, and for emphasizing on raising the ceiling of trade relations between the two countries.

At the end of the meeting, Minister Radman congratulated Iraq on its presidency of the Group of 77 and China, praising the role played by Iraq in enhancing international security and stability.

Following the meeting, the two Ministers held a joint press conference at the headquarters of the Croatian Foreign Ministry, in which they highlighted the most important results of the talks, affirming the importance of continuing cooperation between Iraq and Croatia to strengthen bilateral relations and support partnership.