The Prstenac Race has long ago gone beyond being a local event, becoming an unavoidable part of the rich cultural identity of Istria and Croatia, the president said.
She said Istria always had an especially important place in Croatia's cultural and political history, from its rich Glagolithic tradition to its party-of-rights movement and the people's anti-fascism, which she said had been unique in Europe.
Istria has always shown throughout history how much it cares for Croatia and today "it shows it by the fact that Istria County is in many ways the driver of Croatia's economic development," the president said.
"This is the patriotism we need today, this big development potential we can and must utilise much more. It is necessary to finally expand the bottleneck of Istria's road connectivity with Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and thereby every other part of Croatia."
What Peljesac Bridge will mean for Dubrovnik-Neretva County and Croatia in the south, a second tube of the Ucka Tunnel will mean for Istria, the president said, adding that it was unacceptable that one had to go across Slovenia to reach other parts of Croatia by train.
"Investing in transport infrastructure is of strategic importance for the further development of Istria and all of Croatia, so one must no longer stall with resolving that issue," she said, adding that everyone wanted a developed and progressive Istria as part of a developed and progressive Croatia in which young people will build their future with optimism. She is confident that cand be achieved only through togetherness and cooperation of all segments of government and social development stakeholders.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said the Prstenac Race was a great example of Istria's and Croatia's cultural heritage and congratulated everyone who had revived it.
"I am sure this Prstenac Race too will make a big contribution to tourism in this region. Istria is the leader in Croatian tourism with great results both in terms of nights and tourist numbers as well as revenues, investments and quality," he said.
He announced that the government would hold a session in Pula on September 13 to send an important message of its cooperation with Istria County. He said the session would focus on all development projects relating to the economy and the infrastructure in order to bolster the development and quality of all projects in Istria.
Istria is developing in a planned and sensible manner and it has outstanding results in the economy, agriculture and tourism, not forgetting its history and tradition, said county head Valter Flego. He added that Istria was proud of cherishing its cultural heritage and that there were events like the Prstenac Race around the county.
"They all have a common denominator, which is regional identity and cherishing our belonging," said Flego.
The Prstenac Race was first mentioned in 1696 and the town of Barban revived it in 1976, holding it every year on the third Sunday in August.