On Tuesday, Grabar-Kitarovic will be received by Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace. The meeting comes seven months after British Crown Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, paid a two-day visit to Croatia as part of a regional tour. The visit did not have a political dimension, but focused on promoting ties between the two nations.
After the audience with the Queen, the President is due to meet with Prime Minister Theresa May for talks on bilateral relations. In the evening, the Minister for Europe, Sir Alan Duncan, will give a reception for the Croatian president at Lancaster House.
Also on Tuesday, Grabar-Kitarovic is scheduled to meet separately with Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and the Speaker of the House of Lords, Norman Fowler, and to deliver a lecture at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
On Wednesday, the second and last day of the visit, the Croatian president is to meet with Business Secretary Greg Clark and have a working lunch with representatives of banks and investment institutions. In the afternoon, she will visit the Bloomberg offices where she is scheduled to meet with IT executives.
This visit highlights the extent to which the UK recognises Croatia's role both in the European Union, while it itself is still a member of the bloc, and as in NATO. It also recognises the role of the President herself in working on strengthening European cooperation and stabilising Southeast Europe, a source in the President's Office said.
The British Ambassador to Croatia, Andrew Dalgleish, said that the visit confirms the importance that the UK attaches to its relations with Croatia.
The UK is exiting the European Union, but as we have clearly stressed, it is not turning its back on Europe. On the contrary, we will explore and seize every opportunity to strengthen relationships with our partners in Europe, the ambassador said. Croatia and the UK are partners, not just bilaterally but globally as well, through the UN and NATO, he added.
Dalgleish recalled that Grabar-Kitarovic was among the first to express regret over the EU referendum result in the UK, and that she also stressed that the will of the British people must be respected and that now we need to focus on strengthening bilateral relations. That's exactly what our goal is, he said.
The UK and Croatia are cooperating in many areas today, from defence and security to tourism, culture, education and global themes. But there are always areas in which we can do more. This visit is a great opportunity to emphasise that, the ambassador concluded.
Dalgleish said that Croatia wanted to continue strong economic, scientific, defence and security cooperation with the UK.
The Croatian president travels to Brussels on Wednesday evening to meet with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Parliament President Martin Schulz.
The meeting with the NATO Secretary-General will focus on strengthening defence cooperation between the EU and NATO, while the topics of her meeting with the EU leaders will include the future of the EU, the migrant crisis, the situation in Southeast Europe, Croatia's representation in EU institutions, and preparations for the Croatian presidency of the bloc in the first half of 2020.