CROATIA AND CANADA STRENGTHEN TRANSATLANTIC PARTNERSHIP AND ECONOMIC TIES
In Ottawa, I met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. We highlighted the excellent relations between Croatia and Canada across a range of bilateral and global issues, as well as within NATO.
Croatia views Canada as a reliable and important transatlantic partner, a country with which we share democratic values, a commitment to international law and support for multilateral cooperation.
The large Croatian community in Canada makes a significant contribution to the Croatia Canada partnership and to Canada’s political, economic, academic and cultural life, while maintaining strong ties with Croatia. I also advocated resolving the issue of the classification of the Croatian language in Canada’s upcoming 2026 Census.
In 2025, bilateral trade reached US$430 million, an increase of 150 percent, supported by Croatia Airlines’ procurement of aircraft and engines and the delivery of ships from the 3. Maj shipyard to Canadian company Algoma.
The growth in Canadian tourist arrivals to Croatia has continued this year, following 188,000 arrivals in 2025.
In terms of energy cooperation, the LNG terminal on Krk Island plays a strategic role, and both countries share an interest in the further development of civilian nuclear energy. Croatia welcomes Canada’s interest in the DONES project.
We also discussed the further development of the initiative to establish a Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, which would provide financing instruments for small and medium sized enterprises involved in defence, security and resilience projects among allied countries.
We are pleased that Croatian company ORQA and Canadian company Remote Robotics will sign a cooperation agreement during tomorrow’s business forum in Toronto. The agreement will focus on defence industry cooperation, including artificial intelligence integration, advanced unmanned aerial systems production and support for the training of the Canadian Armed Forces.
I congratulated Prime Minister Carney on Canada co hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside the United States and Mexico, and we jointly wished success to both the Croatian and Canadian national teams.
: Andrej Plenković
Prime Minister of Croatia