Bozinovic at the opening of conference – “Projects and project management”

At the beginning of his address, Minister Bozinovic stressed that “project management is very important in creating new value in solving business problems and crises whose consequences are seen in the Republic of Croatia”. “At the same time, the crisis showed the need for fundamental changes in business practices of many, and by seeking new markets, or different ways of rationalizing the business – by connecting business, scientific and academic communities”, Bozinovic said, adding that “this is the area of exceptional importance of project management as a mechanism of synergy of the economy, educational system and the academic community”. Minister Bozinovic also spoke about the economic benefits of Croatia’s accession to NATO, and NATO’s current production plans, investment and infrastructure construction. “We often ask the question of the economic benefits of Croatian membership in NATO and the way Croatia can benefit from membership? The standard answer is that NATO is not an economic organization, but the military-political alliance, but also that membership in NATO represents a positive signal for growth and development of the country that has become a member”, Minister Bozinovic said. He also said that the positive effects arising from membership had long-term beneficial effect on the economic development of member states, stressing that it was different NATO programs and the necessary synergy between the economy, education and science. “We have a range of quality products of our military industry that can compete in a series of NATO programs”, Bozinovic said, recalling a recent example of the Croatian company “INSIG 2” which became the first Croatian company which won the tender for the information security of NATO Base in Naples. Speaking further about the economic benefits of membership in NATO, Bozinovic said “we should take advantage of membership in NATO to conduct activities for further participation in NATO tenders for activities within our region, especially in countries that have demonstrated a clear intention to enter the Euro-Atlantic integration. “Through these and other NATO programs, along with our allies in NATO, we can contribute to long-term stabilization of our neighbourhood, and this goal should be one of the leading ideas in strengthening the Croatia’s engagement in NATO programs”, Bozinovic said. As a key advantage of Croatian participation in NATO projects Bozinovic stated that these projects are also ways of transferring new technologies and knowledge. “NATO programs can and must be one of the mechanisms that will encourage and sustain this transformation”, Bozinovic said.
Besides Minister Bozinovic, the present at the beginning of the conference were also addressed by the Mayor of Zapresic Zeljko Turk and a representative of the Rudjer Boskovic Institute Professor Neven Zarkovic who spoke about the importance of studies at the Business and Management College “Baltazar Adam Krcelic”.