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Academician Zeljko Reiner, vice-president of the Republic of Croatia's Parliament, received on Monday the National Order "For Merit" in the Grand Cross rank conferred by the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, during a ceremony on the occasion of the reception dedicated to marking the Day National of Romania, in the House of Journalists in Zagreb, informs the Embassy of Romania in Croatia in a press release.
The Croatian official was decorated as a sign of appreciation for his important involvement in the development and deepening of cooperation on multiple levels between Romania and the Republic of Croatia and the promotion of Romania's image in the Croatian space.
The Ambassador of Romania in Zagreb, Constantin-Mihail Grigorie, presented the prodigious career of the academician Zeljko Reiner, vice-president of the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia and former president of the Croatian legislative forum, prominent scientific and cultural personality, his remarkable contribution to the amplification of bilateral parliamentary cooperation, in the academic, scientific and cultural fields.
In his intervention, Ambassador Constantin-Mihail Grigorie highlighted the dynamic partnership established on all levels between Romania and Croatia, which, 30 years after the establishment of diplomatic relations, are close partners in the European Union and NATO, asserting themselves as important actors in promoting democracy and respect for human rights, stability and security in South-Eastern Europe, on the European continent and throughout the world.
This year's celebration of the Jubilee of Romanian-Croatian diplomatic relations takes place in a special context, further marked by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, emphasized Ambassador Grigorie, Romania and Croatia making their contribution active in maintaining a united voice of the EU in condemning and sanctioning the aggressor, in expressing solidarity and giving full support to Ukraine and its citizens.
The Romanian diplomat highlighted the intense bilateral agenda in recent years, the fruitful political dialogue with exchanges of visits between the presidents of Romania and the Republic of Croatia, the prime ministers of the two countries, the parliaments and the majority of the members of the Romanian and Croatian governments, with the President of the Croatian Parliament and the Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs having been last month on official visits to Romania.
Ambassador Grigorie highlighted the vigorous rise of economic relations between Romania and Croatia, with a doubling in the last 5 years of the volume of bilateral trade, which will exceed 700 million euros at the end of this year, the particularly intense bilateral cultural dialogue from which the extraordinary concerts held in Zagreb by maestros Gheorghe Zamfir and Marius Mihalache and the one on June 9 of this year held by the "Madrigal - Marin Constantin" National Chamber Choir.
The diplomat also highlighted the importance of the Romanian and Croatian communities in the two countries in enhancing the friendship and cooperation between Romania and Croatia, expressing his gratitude for the support given by the Croatian authorities by offering a church in Zagreb for the Romanian Orthodox community in Croatia, where the religious service is held from year 2017 by a priest sent by the Romanian Patriarchate.
In his answer, the academician Zeljko Reiner expressed his deep gratitude for the gesture of the President of Romania to confer on him one of the highest decorations of the Romanian state, which he considers a symbol of the attention that President Klaus Iohannis and the Government of Romania pay to Romania's relations with Republic of Croatia.
Committing to continue working to bring the two countries as close as possible in the future, Reiner quoted Queen Maria of Romania - "Nothing is far when someone wants to get there" and "our common goals they are not far and we will surely reach them".
Present in the event were Gordan Jandrokovic, President of the Croatian Parliament, Furio Radin, Vice President of the Parliament, Miroslav Separovic, President of the Croatian Constitutional Court, Gari Capelli and Domagoj Haidukovic, Presidents of the Parliamentary Committees on Foreign Policy and European Affairs, Gordan Grlic Radman, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Velimir Neidhardt and Davor Milicic, the president and respectively vice-president of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Stjepan Lakusic, rector of the University of Zagreb, Dragutin Kamenski and Stjepan Roglic, honorary consuls of Romania in Rijeka and Split, heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Zagreb, representatives of the economic, cultural and press circles, members of the Romanian community in Croatia.AGERPRES
