It is of vital importance to have a vision, the will and courage, and Croatia has it all, Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Miklos told the conference, adding that he was confident of Croatia's success.
Irish European Affairs Minister Noel Tracy also believes that Croatia can be successful in developing its own model of development.
The Croats are creative and hard-working people. You should protect your own strengths, you can rely on the experience of others and there is no reason why you should not be successful in developing your own model, Tracy said.
In their speeches, guests from Slovakia, Ireland and Estonia conveyed the experiences and models of their own countries that had resulted in high economic growth, stressing the importance of investment in education, innovation, research and development.
Miklos said that Slovakia had become attractive to investors after implementing tax reform.
Speaking of factors of the Irish economic miracle, Tracy cited young, well-educated people, social partnership, wise fiscal management, substantial internal investment, and membership of the European Union.
Ireland introduced a low profit tax rate in order to promote foreign investment and is today highly attractive to foreign investment in modern information technologies, the Irish minister said.
Estonia's success story is based on a good macroeconomic environment, economic development based on foreign investment and low labour costs, said Olav Aarna, chairman of a committee in the Estonian Parliament.
That model, however, cannot last forever and Estonia is now at a stage when it should adjust its strategy, Aarna said, adding that his country, drawing from Finland's experience, was drafting legislation to establish a national development foundation.
Aarna advised Croatia not to make the mistakes others had made, underlining the importance of a long-term national strategy.
It is important to see what others did, but that should not be copied, because you should not forget your own cultural aspects, Aarna stressed.