Joint efforts needed to address illegal immigration: Italian, Croatian presidents

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic and visiting Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday said it was necessary to address the illegal immigration issue in order to avoid new humanitarian disasters in the Mediterranean.

At a joint news conference, Grabar Kitarovic said Croatia would send a ship to the Mediterranean in May to provide concrete assistance to Italy, which is directly affected by the influx of illegal immigrants.

Illegal immigration is a common European problem and requires "solidarity and joint effort in resolving it," she added.

The two presidents agreed that it was necessary to remove the cause that drives people to emigrate from Africa and the Middle East.

Both presidents expressed their satisfaction at bilateral relations between the two countries.

"Italy welcomed Croatia's accession to the European Union as a success because that created a new gravitation centre for the European Union," Mattarella said.

Although Italy is Croatia's leading export partner, the level of investment "could be better," Grabar Kitarovic said, adding that there was room for joint ventures in the region and beyond, particularly in energy, upgrading and modernizing the railways, food industry and IT.

Also on Thursday, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic met Mattarella to discuss economic cooperation.

Croatia's trade with Italy stands at 14.11 percent of total international trade of the country, while Italy has invested 1.39 billion euros (1.49 billion U.S. dollars) in Croatia during the period of 1993 to 2014, being the sixth biggest investor with 4.8 percent of all foreign investments in Croatia. (1 euro = 1.07 U.S. dollars) Endit