Minister of Foreign and European Affairs visits RACVIAC

H.E. Gordan Grlić Radman, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, paid an official visit to RACVIAC – Centre for Security Cooperation on January  10, 2025 upon the invitation of RACVIAC Director, H.E. Ambassador Constantin-Mihail Grigorie.

The meeting strengthened the long-standing collaboration between RACVIAC and Croatia by highlighting the crucial role Croatia has played in the Organization’s founding and ongoing success.

During the meeting Ambassador Grigorie expressed profound gratitude to Croatia for its instrumental role in founding RACVIAC in 2000, alongside Germany.

He emphasized the enduring support and growing contributions of Croatia to RACVIAC mission, stressing the country’s permanent and strong engagement within the Organization. The Director also underlined the essential contributions of Croatia as a full and active Member of RACVIAC in fulfilling its membership obligations.

This includes chairing the Multinational Advisory Group (MAG) on several occasions, hosting numerous RACVIAC activities and providing secondees. The Deputy Director position is permanently held by high-ranking officers seconded by the Croatian Ministry of Defense (MOD). Currently, there are 12 staff members from the Croatian Armed Forces seconded in RACVIAC. 

Croatia is one of RACVIAC strongest financial supporters which is a testament to its dedication to fostering regional security and stability,  RACVIAC Director emphasising that, as the host country, Croatia has been instrumental in ensuring the operational and programmatic success of RACVIAC through significant infrastructure and financial contributions.

Additionally, Ambassador Grigorie updated Minister Grlić Radman on his efforts to raise RACVIAC visibility in order to garner increased support and to enlarge the RACVIAC family, as well as the Centre’s personnel, taking into account the growing number of RACVIAC activities and projects.

In 2025, when RACVIAC celebrates its 25th anniversary, we have expanded our program, underlined the Director, to include events and initiatives focused on emerging and critical topics such as Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Nuclear Security, Critical Infrastructure Protection, etc. These efforts aim to provide a platform for fostering dialogue and cooperation on issues that are vital for security and stability of our region. The collaboration with the academic community has also been strengthened to ensure the highest quality scientific support for the Centre’s activities.

In this regard, Ambassador Grigorie used the opportunity to inform Minister Grlić Radman that RACVIAC is planning to organize a “Conference on Resilience and Protection of Critical Infrastructure” in spring 2025, in cooperation with the Euro – Atlantic Resilience Center from Romania and the US Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF Global), as a new RACVIAC flagship event starting with 2025 in addition to the “Conference on Security Challenges for Europe”, which RACVIAC traditionally organizes with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.

The meeting was concluded with a reiteration of gratitude to Croatia as a host nation for its unwavering support over the past 24 years.

H.E. Gordan Grlić Radman expressed gratitude for the visit and praised RACVIAC activities, emphasizing its pivotal role in fostering dialogue and cooperation in the region.

He reaffirmed the Croatian MFEA’s steadfast commitment to RACVIAC strategic goals, ensuring continued support. Furthermore, he expressed eagerness to enhance its engagement in RACVIAC operations.

Both RACVIAC Director and Minister Grlić Radman expressed a shared commitment to regional stability and security emphasizing the importance of continued collaboration.

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