The South Korean Embassy in Croatia and the South Korean Business Centre organised the forum to connect South Korean and Croatian companies.
Special advisor to President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and advisor in the Croatian Chamber of Commerce Marko Jurcic said that cooperation between Croatia and South Korea was increasing, adding that opening the Croatian embassy in Seoul and launching a direct flight connecting the two capitals helped in that.
"As for foreign direct investment, we must focus on attracting investments from South Korea, as we haven't been very successful in that department so far, unlike other countries in Croatia's neighbourhood," Jurcic said.
According to the latest figures provided by the Croatian national statistical office, in the first eight months of this year, Croatia's exports to South Korea rose by as much as 117.5% on the year, reaching HRK 509.33 million. At the same time, imports from South Korea rose by 51% to approximately HRK 917 million.
Over the past several years, bilateral trade had not exceeded EUR 340 million. Should efforts invested in boosting the economic cooperation continue, I am confident that the trade volume would more than double, said Jaeheung Park of the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.