Croatia, Britain agree to deepen relations

Visiting British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Wednesday that although Britain would leave the European Union (EU), it would not abandon Europe and added it hoped to deepen bilateral relations with Croatia.

Britain has an important role in European stability, Johnson said after holding talks with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Davor Ivo Stier.

It was not in Britain's interests to see the EU weaken and London opts for a strong partnership with the EU, he added.

Plenkovic said Croatia hoped to develop strong relations with Britain, notably in the business and tourism sectors.

Johnson and Plenkovic said they were happy to see a 22 percent increase of British tourists visiting Croatia over the past year.

They agreed there was plenty of room to deepen economic relations between the two countries.

Johnson spoke with Stier on the issue of free movement of workers. Stier said Croatia would wait for Britain to activate Article 50 and wishes to have a constructive approach to those negotiations.

Croatia would protect the interests of its citizens so that they have the same status as all other EU citizens, he added.

Britain is one of the few countries not to have lifted restrictions on the hiring of Croatian citizens, extending them in 2015 for another three years. Endit