Defence ministers attend Croatian–Israel business conference

The conference presented the Croatian and Israeli defence industries, and the Agreement on Co-operation between the Croatian Chamber of Economy and Association of Producers of the State of Israel was signed by the President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Luka Burilović and the Director of the Israeli Export Institute Gadi Arieli, authorised by the President of the Manufacturers Association of Israel.
The Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krstičević emphasised: „The business co-operation between Croatia and Israel is a result of the friendly relations between the two countries; I am glad that Croatia has the opportunity to learn from a leader n defence and security and to also share its own experiences and expertise. I believe that this conference will lead to new business deals and successful co-operation of the Israeli and Croatian firms“.

The Minister reminded that the Croatian defence industry grew in adverse circumstances of the agression on Croatia and the arms embargo. “The Croatian defence industry has become a factor of its overall economic growth and development, and the Croatian firms have achieved strong business results and successes in demanding international markets“, said the Minister, who also underlined the Croatian soldiers being fully equipped with the domestic weapons and equipment and that the halted decrease of the defence budget. The Minister said that he expected the defence budget to increase in the coming years as the Croatian Government recognised the importance of the defence system as the basis of progress of any country and also reminded of the good bilateral record so far and the last year’s engagement of the Croatian firefighter aircraft in Israel.  
The Israeli Minister  Avigdor Lieberman extended the appreciation to the Croatian Ministry of defence for the past co-operation, which in his view should continue to develop and to include new sectors.

“We discussed the bilateral co-operation and I must say that there is still more to do than we have done. The co-operation in security is undoubtedly the best motive to do so. The Croatian military industry has an excellent reputation; our countries are both small in size and our co-operation can help to enter new markets and expand business in the existing ones. I hope the Israeli and Croatian firms will continue to co-work“, said Minister Lieberman, who also emphasised he expected to see the productive outcome of the Conference, which gathered renowned private manufacturers of military equipment.
The President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Luka Burilović underlined that the Croatian defence industry was a world-class brand, supported by the Chamber at international weapon and equipment fairs. The President of the Chamber commended the co-operation of the Ministry of Defence and the Croatian firms and expressed hope that the Croatian defence industry would keep its place among the leaders of the country’s economic growth and development.
“The State of Israel has invested 40 mil EUR into Croatia since 1993, and I believe that there is room to improve the co-operation and to continue it. The potential domains are the IT sector, technology, medicine, education and agriculture“, said the President of the Chamber.
The signatory for the Israeli side (authorised by the President of the Manufacturers Association of Israel) Director General of the Israeli Export Institute Gadi Ariely, agreed that the co-operation between the Republic of Croatia and the State of Israel had to expand to other domains too, such as medicine, dentistry, agriculture and stated that Croatia had a lot of useful experience in tourism for Israel.

The Director of Šestan Busch d.o.o. Alojzije Šestan said the conference was an important event for the Croatian defence industry. “Israel views Croatia as a leading country in the southeast Europe. Šestan Busch d.o.o. is presently developing an army helmet with an Israeli firm and will today discuss the placement of our products in Israel“.
The Director of DOK-ING-a Vjekoslav Majetić stressed that the Croatian military industry products met Israel’s high-level quality criteria and underlined the DOK-ING mine clearing machines,  representing the firm’s the humanitarian aspect.
Zvika Zuckerman, the Director of RAFAEL, a leading manufacturer in the domains of of C4I and ISR, producing high-precision interceptors, expressed hope in continued co-operation, primarily in the production of navigation and air defence systems.
The Director of Israel Aerospace Industries, producing strategic defence systems for the Israeli Ministry of Defence, Israel Sharon emphasised he had already co-worked with Croatian companies.
“The co-operation can be established in the domain of robotics. Also, Croatia has the potential in the IT sector and in border control“, said Sharon.
The conference presented the development of the two defence industries, their significance for security and society, the armed forcers and other defence and security-related institutions and the overall economy and academic community for each country and for their strategic partnership from the aspect of international security.