He was addressing a workshop on development projects in agritourism and small enterprise which the United States Agency for International Development organised in the eastern town of Ilok.
Apart from local entrepreneurs and officials, the workshop was attended by the head of the European Commission Delegation to Croatia, Vincet Degert, and Austrian Ambassador Helga Konrad.
Bradtke said it was in the EU's interest that Croatia achieve united Europe's standards as soon as possible by investing in its own development and progress. He added the US had invested more than US$400 million in Croatia so far and would continue to invest.
Degert pointed to the big differences in the development of Croatia's regions, saying that people in Zagreb earned 2.5 times more than in the east. The EUR150 million that the EU annually directs towards Croatia is primarily being invested in war-affected areas, he added.
Austrian Ambassador Konrad said Ilok's tourism should focus on quality, domestic product and avoid mass tourism.
USAID director William Jefferson said this Agency had invested $320 million in Croatia so far, including $3.4 million in Vukovar-Srijem County, of which about $1 million in the Ilok and Srijem area. In the future, USAID will invest in agritourism and agricultural production, he added.