The agreement, which was signed in the Russian capital today, is a result of long-standing negotiations between Zagreb and Moscow on clearing the debt through the delivery of goods and services from Russia to Croatia, with the annual amount of 37.1 million US dollars in the coming five years.
According to the government's press release, Croatia is the first successor to the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) to have succeeded in reaching the agreement with Moscow on the debt clearance scheme.
Croatia opted for receiving high-quality Russian goods and services as in this way the Russian Federation pledged to cover the debt in the next five years.
As a result, Croatia will get from Russia high-quality equipment necessary for the thermo-electric power plant in the town of Sisak, multipurpose helicopters and equipment necessary for the preparation of the project for a gas pipeline from the Hungarian border towards the eastern Croatian town of Donji Miholjac.
After the signing ceremony, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin received Croatia's delegation led by Minister Suker. The two ministers agreed that their countries had mutual interests in promoting economic cooperation.