At the event organised by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) and the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, the chamber's president Nadan Vidosevic said that the prospective admission of Croatia to the EU would serve as an additional encouragement for the expansion of the Italian capital.
Vidosevic said that 65 percent of the banking system's assets in Croatia was under the control of Italian banks. which along with Croatia's NATO membership, prospective EU membership and geographical vicinity made this country an ideal destination for Italian investors.
Italian Ambassador in Zagreb, Alessandro Pignatti Morano Di Custoza, said that the bilateral relations were better than ever.
The diplomat said that the Italians had invested not only into the banking system but also in the real economy, including the textile and timber processing industries, tourism and agriculture in Croatia.
Italia is Croatia's top trading partner. In 2010, the exchange of goods and services totalled four billion euros with Croatia's export to Italy coming to EUR 1.66 billion and Italy's exports to Croatia to EUR 2.3 billion.
From 1993 to the end of 2010, Italy's direct investments in Croatia totalled EUR 1.17 billion, which was why Italy was the seventh biggest investor in Croatia in the said period.
According to figures released by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS), in 2010 over one million Italian tourists visited Croatia, making 4.7 million overnight stays.
Today's event in Zagreb gathered more than 100 executives and managers from Croatian and Italian companies who were acquainted with investment projects in Croatia.