ZAGREB: President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday held “productive” talks with his Croatian counterpart Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on all aspects of bilateral relations as the two countries signed four MoUs in the fields of culture, tourism and sports.
Kovind, who was conferred with Croatia’s highest civilian award — the Grand Order of the King of Tomislav, said, “I accept this honour with great humility. Let me dedicate this award to India-Croatia Friendship. May this special gesture strengthen our friendship forever.”
“#PresidentKovind and President of Croatia Mrs Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic witnessed signing of four MoUs between both countries in the field of tourism, sports, establishment of chairs in #Sanskrit and #Hindi,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Ravish Kumar tweeted soon after signing of the agreements.
The two countries inked an MoU on cooperation in the field of tourism.
“Croatia attracted nearly 19 million tourists last year…tourist flow from India to Croatia has been increasing sharply every year. The agreement on cooperation in the field of tourism that we signed today will help deepen our links in this important sector,” the President said.
An MoU was signed between the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Department of Kinesiology of the University of Zagreb for capacity building in sports.
Two agreements were signed to establish Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Chair for Sanskrit and Hindi language at the University of Zagreb.
The two leaders also agreed to work together to develop a strong global response to defeat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
“Peace and security are critical to foster the well-being of humanity. We are deeply grateful to the Government of Croatia for its steadfast support against terrorism. The world needs to take decisive action against those who harbour and support terrorists,” the President said.
Referring to Pakistan and cross border terrorism, he said, “As for India, we have made it clear that we will take all necessary measures to protect ourselves, to secure ourselves, so that we can provide for the welfare of our people.”
He thanked the Croatian president for “her strong condemnation of the brutal and barbaric terror attack in Pulwama in India last month.”
The two leaders also discussed possibilities of deepening cooperation in research and development projects.
Earlier in the day, to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Kovind offered a bust of the global icon of peace and non-violence to the Croatian government for public display.
The President is in the European country as part of his eight-day three-nation visit to Croatia, Bolivia and Chile to further strengthen bilateral ties between India and the three countries.
Kovind, who is the first-ever Indian head of state to visit Croatia, is in the country from March 25 to March 28. PTI
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