"I think the impression of corruption is far greater than the actual corruption because it's such a prominent topic and everyone's been talking about it, which is good, because you cannot sweep it under the carpet but you have to talk about it in order to be able to resolve it," she said.
"Corruption is being dealt with right now -- prevention, sanctioning, everything," the minister told Reuters in the interview during an official visit to Canada.
Grabar-Kitarovic said a public relations campaign was targeting "certain modes of corruption which have been accepted in our country as types of social behavior, such as bringing gifts to doctors".
She also told Reuters that she is confident a majority of Croatians would vote "yes" in a referendum to be held on whether the country should join the EU.
The support for EU membership is around 53 to 55 percent ... we haven't started actually with a pre-referendum campaign and I believe that once we get to the referendum we'll have a solid 'pro' vote," Grabar-Kitarovic said.
She expressed hope Croatia would become a member of the EU by the end of the decade.
"A few months earlier or later really doesn't make a difference," she said.