TEL AVIV, Dec 16 (Hina) - Croatian President Stipe Mesic's recent visit to Israel has been very important for the advancement of Croatian-Israeli relations, but cooperation has not taken full advantage of its potential, mainly due to
political and red tape hurdles, the president of the Israeli-Croatian Friendship League has said. Samuel Schlesinger recalls the League was formed in 1997, when he says Croatian-Israeli relations were tense. Hard work has managed to prepare the ground for better cooperation, but its results will be reaped only in the future, he said. The Israeli-Croatian Friendship League comprises seven eminent Israeli figures. Schlesinger is one of them. Born in Zagreb, he emigrated to Israel in 1948, and says he is surprised at how little progress Croatia has made in the past 50 years. Croatia has good, capable and smart people but everything connected with the authorities and
TEL AVIV, Dec 16 (Hina) - Croatian President Stipe Mesic's recent
visit to Israel has been very important for the advancement of
Croatian-Israeli relations, but cooperation has not taken full
advantage of its potential, mainly due to political and red tape
hurdles, the president of the Israeli-Croatian Friendship League
has said.
Samuel Schlesinger recalls the League was formed in 1997, when he
says Croatian-Israeli relations were tense. Hard work has managed
to prepare the ground for better cooperation, but its results will
be reaped only in the future, he said.
The Israeli-Croatian Friendship League comprises seven eminent
Israeli figures.
Schlesinger is one of them. Born in Zagreb, he emigrated to Israel
in 1948, and says he is surprised at how little progress Croatia has
made in the past 50 years.
Croatia has good, capable and smart people but everything connected
with the authorities and bureaucracy is a handicap, he says,
maintaining only a free economy and joint interests can lead to
success.
Croatia has many qualities attractive to Israeli capital, such as
proximity to Europe and Israel, a good labour force, sea, farmland,
and tourist offer, while Israel has a highly developed technology,
industry, agriculture, and genetic engineering, capital willing to
cross national borders, and a global view on world events,
according to Schlesinger.
In the past four years, since diplomatic relations were
established, Croatia has expressed interest in military
cooperation, the aviation industry in particular.
Schlesinger reminds that Mesic's visit to Israel eliminated the
last political barrier which existed at the time of his
predecessor, the late Franjo Tudjman.
(hina) ha