Minister Bozinovic opened Croatian-Norwegian Forum of Competence

On the Forum, which was organized on the occasion of official visit of Norwegian King Harald V and Queen Sonja to Croatia, specialized seminars that cover areas of cooperation on renewable energy sources, geographic information technologies and the construction of tunnels and underground structures were held. Seminar on Croatian-Norwegian military industry was organized by the Norwegian company “Innovation Norway” in cooperation with the Norwegian Association of Defence and Security Industry and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

In his address at the opening of the Forum Minister Bozinovic emphasized the good cooperation between the two countries on a number of maritime projects, as well as the exchange of experience in the organization of the Coast Guard in the Republic of Croatia. Also, when speaking about the effectiveness of modern armed forces through the quality of their equipment, Bozinovic said that Croatian companies – manufacturers of military equipment, produce military equipment for different geographical and climatic conditions that Croatian soldiers use in military operations and peacekeeping missions around the world, including Afghanistan, which confirmed that these equipment was able to meet the toughest demands. “In this sense, Croatia has the potential to develop a wide range of its own defence capabilities and technologies. Through its membership in NATO, Croatia has opened doors for cooperation in military research and development, in terms of development of our overall defense capabilities. In order to effectively participate in the activities of the Alliance, Croatia should increase economic competitiveness by obtaining higher quality standards and the necessary scientific and industrial capacity that allows direct participation in joint international projects”, Bozinovic said. When recalling on the beginnings of the development of military industry in the Republic of Croatia and its significance during the Homeland War, Bozinovic said that “today our military industrial capacity is in accordance with the requirements and needs of the Croatian Armed Forces, and that the focus of development and modernization of the military industry is opened for new forms of cooperation with international partners”.