Ambassador Constantin-Mihail Grigorie was accompanied by vice-consul Corina-Mihaela Cosmă-Gălățanu and honorary consul of Romania in Rijeka Dragutin Kamenski.

Mayor Marko Filipović said that the cooperation between the City of Rijeka and the Embassy of Romania was focused on strengthening business and cultural cooperation. He reminded of the fact that Rijeka, which had held the title of European Capital of Culture in 2020, had given its support to Romanian Timisoara, which would hold this prestigious title in 2023.

Reception in honour of the Ambassador of Romania

“In our conversation, we touched on a number of topics, such as economic cooperation and the establishment of better relationships at local level. Fifteen years of the activity of the Honorary Consulate of Romania in Rijeka is a proof that Romania here has its own interest. A large number of Romanian tourists visit our city and county, and the Honorary Consul of Romania in Rijeka Dragutin Kamenski has certainly contributed to successful cooperation”, said Mayor Filipović.

Vojko Braut, deputy president of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County said that in addition to talks on economic and cultural co-operation, the visit was used to present the Romanian Ambassador with the Investment Catalogue of the Primorje Gorski Koatr County and provide information about institutions that Romanian investors can apply to.

The Ambassador of Romania to Croatia, H.E. Constantin-Mihail Grigorie expressed his satisfaction with the visit. “I would use my visit to Rijeka, among others, to underline the excellent relationships that Romania and Croatia have in all segments. In the context of intensive dialogue between the two countries, we are also developing relationships at the level of local communities. I would like to emphasise very good cooperation between the Universities of both cities and cooperation in the economic field. In the last four years, economic exchange between Croatia and Romania has practically quadrupled, despite the pandemic, and it now stands at over 600 million euros. We will support cooperation between the County Chamber of Commerce and the Romanian Chambers. I would like to emphasise in particular the important role of the Honorary Consul of Romania in Rijeka, headed by Mr. Kamenski,”said Ambassador Grigorie.

Reception in honour of the Ambassador of Romania

The ambassador said that on the occasion of his visit to Rijeka, an exhibition on Istro-Romanians would be inaugurated. This is a language community that unfortunately counts just over 100 people and is a connection between two countries. Croatia and Romania have good co-operation on the protection of the Istro-Romanian language, which was registered in 2006 in the register of intangible assets of the Republic of Croatia. In 2016, a school was opened in Šušnjevica, renovated by funds provided by both ministries where the Istro-Romanian language is studied. The exhibited photographs present members of this small community.