Croatian-Iranian Economic Forum held as part of HBF in Zagreb

The second day of the Halal Business Forum was dedicated to relations between Croatia and Iran. The long-standing cooperation between these countries in the halal market was crowned with the Croatian-Iranian forum.

The Head of the Centre for Halal Quality Certification emphasized that Iran is a respectable and large market with which cooperation should be established.

"We were with a delegation in Iran where the first Halal Forum between Croatia and Iran was organized, and we even expanded it to Southeastern Europe. I personally visited Iran twice and had the opportunity to see large manufacturers and service providers who truly have quality and quantity of production. Iran is indeed a large, powerful market with which we definitely need to establish contacts and cooperation, not to mention the culture and civilization present there, when we talk about the tourism aspect, as there are tourism representatives in the delegation who will hold certain meetings with our tourism representatives in the Republic of Croatia to see how this tourism cooperation could be strengthened. Also, we will hold a meeting with the delegation at the Croatian Chamber of Economy, which was our partner in this organization, precisely to try to stimulate new conversations, new ideas, and open new paths for realizing and strengthening the economy," emphasized Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aldin Dugonjić.

Dr. Jelena Đugum, Director of the Agriculture Sector at the Croatian Chamber of Economy, also addressed those present at the opening of the Croatian-Iranian forum.

"It is important to note that Croatia and Iran record symbolic foreign trade exchange. In 2022, Croatia exported products to Iran worth 5.4 million dollars, while imports from Iran amounted to 6.6 million dollars at the same time. We have potential for cooperation, and I am sure that through the organization of this forum, the Croatian economy will be brought closer to Iran's and Iran's to Croatia, resulting in better indicators in the coming period."

Iranian Ambassador Said Khatibzadeh emphasized that both history and geography connect Iran and Croatia when it comes to the economy.

"Iran is the gateway to the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Caucasus. Croatia is also the gateway to Europe. You are one half, we are the other half; history and geography connect us when it comes to the economy. Our economies are complementary; everything we need, you have, and everything you need, we have. We have favorable energy, knowledge, infrastructure, and the halal industry we are talking about today—the best you can find is in Iran. I come from a city that has the best products in the world, and tourism as well."

As part of the Croatian-Iranian forum, a panel discussion was held on the topic "Opportunities for Croatian-Iranian Business Cooperation". The panelists were Dr. Ahmad Sadeghian, Dr. Amirhussein Waderi, Hassan Nazarzadeh Dabbagh, Saša Vojnović, and Saša Gregurić. The panel was moderated by Nermin Botonjić, General Secretary of the Meshihat of the Islamic Community in Croatia.

Source: https://sanapress.info/2023/10/04/u-sklopu-hbf-u-zagrebu-odrzan-hrvatsko-iranski-privredni-forum/