Addressing a business forum which pooled about 60 Croatian and Swedish managers, Arne Olsson said that Croatia had made great progress in its efforts to join the European Union since 2003, when the last forum of this kind was held. He pointed out Croatia as a model which other countries in the region should follow.
So far, Swedish companies have invested about USD 100 million in Croatia. An increase in Swedish investments can be expected in the coming years.
An official of the Croatian Economy Ministry said that the Swedish company TELE 2, which is the third mobile operator in Croatia, was planning to invest about 20 million euros in Croatia until 2010.
Another Swedish company, STENA LINES, has commissioned 12 ships to be built in the shipyards in the Croatian cities of Pula and Split. The value of the contracts is about USD 450 million.
Croatia's Tesla and Sweden's Ericsson are continuing their excellent cooperation in telecommunications and in the manufacturing of electric devices.
Croatia is becoming a more and more attractive destination for Swedish holiday-makers. Last year, 88,000 Swedes visited Croatian Adriatic resorts. In the first nine months of this year, 116,700 Swedish guests were registered in Croatia.
The Swedish participants in the forum inquired about developments in efforts to bring order into Croatian land registries as well as about the possibility to establish a direct airline service from Scandinavia to Croatia.
The Nordic Days event, a specialised annual business conference, is scheduled to take place in Zagreb on 21 and 22 November.
The second Nordic Days conference will gather representatives of about 100 companies from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland and from about 300 Croatian companies who will discuss possibilities of new partnerships and investment. Emphasis will be placed on the transfer of knowledge in environmental protection and waste management.