Zagreb: Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a rousing welcome by the vibrant Indian community in Zagreb as he began his landmark visit to Croatia – the first-ever by an Indian Prime Minister to the country – on Wednesday.
Zagreb is the last stop on PM Modi’s three-nation tour, which also included visits to Cyprus en route to Canada for Tuesday’s G7 Summit in Kananaskis.
As a special gesture, the PM was warmly received by his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenkovic at the Franjo Tudman Airport with a ceremonial welcome.
“This is a special visit, the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister to a valued European partner. I am grateful to Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic for the special gesture of welcoming me at the airport,” PM Modi posted on X.
Plenkovic said that PM Modi’s significant visit comes at a pivotal moment.
“We welcomed the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Zagreb! This is the first visit by the Prime Minister of India – the most populous country in the world, and it comes at an important geopolitical moment. We are starting a new chapter in Croatia-India relations and creating the conditions for strengthening bilateral cooperation in a number of areas,” the Croatian Prime Minister commented.
Members of the Indian diaspora, waiting to catch a glimpse of PM Modi, were seen gathered in huge numbers as the PM’s motorcade drove through the city.
Hundreds of people, including locals, also gave a grand welcome to PM Modi as he arrived at his hotel.
Amid chants of “Modi-Modi”, “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram”, PM Modi witnessed vibrant and energy-filled cultural performances from people present at the venue.
PM Modi joined a group of locals chanting Vedic shlokas and also interacted with a few in the gathering while getting inside the building.
Citing the centuries-old close cultural links, PM Modi had said before arriving in the country that he is looking forward to his visit and meetings with President Zoran Milanovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.
Prime Minister Modi had asserted that the three-nation tour is also an opportunity to thank partner countries for their steadfast support to India in India’s fight against cross-border terrorism, and to galvanise global understanding on tackling terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
Analysts reckon that the first-ever visit by an Indian PM to Croatia will help in fostering stronger political and economic collaboration with Croatia. It will also provide a crucial opportunity to expand bilateral cooperation in various sectors including trade, innovation, defence, ports, shipping, science and tech, cultural exchange, and workforce mobility.
India and Croatia have close cooperation in trade, investment, defence, agriculture sectors amongst others, and also cooperate in international fora, vibrant cultural exchanges and close people-to-people ties.
The bilateral trade between both nations stands at about USD 300 million with the Indian investments in Croatia being roughly around USD 48 million.
Prime Minister Modi briefly interacted with Croatian PM Plenkovic at COP-26 in 2021 and the virtual India-EU Leaders Meeting the same year.
Former President Ramnath Kovind undertook State Visit to Croatia in March 2019, during which he was conferred with Croatia’s highest civilian honor (‘the Grand Order of the King of Tomislav’).
India has been well known in Croatia for centuries, and the earliest Croatian visitors to India were missionaries. Links have been found between the Principality of Dubrovnik and Goa, and the Church of Sao Braz was reportedly built by Croatians around 1563 in Goa.
The Indian community in Croatia has changed over the last three years rapidly due to the demographic situation in Croatia where a lot of foreign workers are being employed for carrying out work in different sectors of the economy.
There were approximately 17000 Indians residing in Croatia in December 2024. Many of the Indian workers are working on short to medium term contracts and therefore at least 90 per cent of the people currently residing are those who form a part of the mobile population staying in Croatia for a specific contractual period.
(IANS)
