During the National Day of Croatia at the World Exhibition EXPO 2025 in Osaka, the Japan-Croatia Economic Forum was held today. The opening of the forum was attended by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who said that this was an excellent opportunity to further improve trade and conclude new deals. Japanese businessmen, he pointed out, are interested in importing Croatian agricultural products, recalling that the main Croatian export product to Japan is Adriatic tuna. Likewise, there is great interest in our pharmaceutical industry, information industry, logistics companies and the digital sphere, i.e. everything that accompanies technological progress. “Everyone is ready to establish quality partnerships for greater economic exchange,” he said.
The Croatian Chamber of Commerce organized the participation of around 60 Croatian companies, from the food sector to IT, which are looking for new partnerships. With the help of partners, the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), B2B meetings were organized with around 100 Japanese entrepreneurs.
The opening of the forum was also attended by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who was accompanied by the Minister of Economy Ante Šušnjar and the Minister of Tourism and Sports Tonči Glavina.
In his speech on the occasion, Prime Minister Plenković emphasized that Croatia, although a small country compared to Japan, is excellently located in terms of geographical position, while, in terms of international positioning, it is a member of the European Union, NATO, the Eurozone, the Schengen area, and soon the OECD.
Since the topics of this year’s EXPO are focused on the future, he said, it was an opportunity for Croatia to present its digital and technological progress in combination with the climate situation in our country, known as the National Park of Europe.
Speaking about Croatia, the Prime Minister recalled that just three decades ago it was a victim of the Greater Serbia aggression of the Milošević regime, which caused damage amounting to approximately 160% of our pre-war GDP, destroyed almost 15% of our housing stock and claimed almost 20,000 lives. After the aggression, he added, Croatia had to demine more than 1,100 square kilometers, which is twice the area submerged in the tsunami in Japan in 2011. This long-term process, he emphasized, will be completed only next year.
Responsible public finances management has enabled Croatia to achieve numerous strategic goals
Today, Croatia is very well known for its tourist attractions and is one of the world’s 20 leading tourist destinations.
Now, he emphasized, when we have achieved all our strategic goals, we continue to invest efforts in increasing the economic standard of our citizens and creating opportunities for our businesses.
Therefore, one of the key government policies is responsible public finances management, he said.
It is precisely this policy that has enabled Croatia to join the Eurozone, meet the main criteria, maintain public debt in Croatia at a level of 57 percent, the budget deficit below 3 percent, inflation at 3 percent and at the same time acquire an investment credit rating of A level with all three world agencies.
He also emphasized the huge investments in energy infrastructure.
“Croatia is a regional hub. So far, we have invested more than 600 million euros in new gas pipelines, which should transport hydrogen as a new energy source in the future. Our Adriatic oil pipeline also plays a strong role, as do investments in energy transformation, especially in wind, solar and geothermal energy,” said the Prime Minister.
All of this makes Croatia a vibrant economy, said Prime Minister Plenković, noting that the country is currently in a period of record-high employment, with the lowest unemployment rate.
GDP per capita, which at the beginning of his government’s first term amounted to 11 thousand euros, is now at 22 thousand euros, and Croatia’s absolute GDP is also many times higher.
Strengthening cooperation in the fields of energy, pharmaceutical industry, agriculture, ICT sector
The benefits of membership in the European Union, he added, are tangible in all strategic areas of our economy, from infrastructure, through business, to other policies, such as agriculture, and of course, sustainable development.
Speaking about cooperation between Japan and Croatia, the Prime Minister said that, at this forum, we also want to highlight sectors in which this partnership can progress, such as energy, pharmaceutical industry, food production, agriculture, logistics, information technology and financial services, as well as the ICT sector.
Therefore, this opportunity should be used for even greater connections and see how our exchange can surpass current levels because there are many areas in which new partnerships can be concluded between Croatian and Japanese companies.
In this context, he emphasized that the Agreement on Economic Partnership between Japan and the European Union should be used, as a framework of reliability, partnership, a predictable legal system, as well as mutual respect.
Encouraging growing presence of Croatian companies in Japan
Prime Minister Plenković met with Susumu Kataoke, President of the Japan External Trade Organization, in Osaka today.
“The priority is to intensify Croatian-Japanese economic cooperation and provide support to companies for investment and business expansion. More than 20 Japanese companies are successfully operating in Croatia, and the growing presence of Croatian companies in Japan is equally encouraging,” he said on that occasion.
He added that Croatia, located at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Central and Southeastern Europe, offers a stable and open market with direct access to the wider European Union market and strategic supply chains.
A successful visit to Japan will strengthen our economic relations
In a statement to the media at the end of today’s activities, Prime Minister Plenković said that he used the visit to Japan, on the occasion of EXPO in Osaka, to improve bilateral relations.
He assessed the meetings he held in Tokyo a few days ago with the Japanese Prime Minister, other government and parliamentary officials, and representatives of the Japanese Business Federation as very meaningful.
Today in Osaka, we presented the diversity of Croatian cultural tradition, heritage, and identity, he added, highlighting the specific features of the Croatian pavilion, which perfectly fit into the main topic, which is climate change.
He assessed the large economic forum that was held earlier as well-prepared and an opportunity to improve trade exchange and agreements on new businesses, thanking the contribution of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the Croatian Chamber of Crafts, and the Croatian Tourist Board.
Japanese businessmen, he pointed out, are interested in importing Croatian agricultural products, recalling that the main Croatian export product to Japan is Adriatic tuna.
Likewise, there is great interest in our pharmaceutical industry, information industry, logistics companies, and the digital sphere, i.e. everything that accompanies technological progress.
“Everyone is ready to establish quality partnerships for greater economic exchange,” he concluded.
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