Croatian FM Gordan Grlic Radman to visit Türkiye for bilateral talks

Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlic Radman will visit Türkiye on March 6, 2025, for an official working visit, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

The visit follows a series of high-level engagements between the two nations, underscoring their growing diplomatic and economic ties.

Bilateral and multilateral cooperation on agenda

Radman’s visit comes after Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s two visits to Croatia in 2024—first for the Türkiye-Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina Trilateral Consultation Mechanism meeting in June and then for the Third Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in October.

During the meetings, Fidan and Radman are expected to discuss:

• Bilateral and multilateral cooperation in various fields.
• Türkiye’s role in maintaining peace and stability in the Balkans.
• Cooperation between Türkiye and Croatia within NATO and the European Union.
• Regional and international issues, including the Russia-Ukraine war, the Palestine situation, and developments in Syria.

Türkiye-Croatia relations, regional cooperation

Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Croatia have strengthened over the years, particularly following the signing of the “Strategic Document” between their foreign ministries in 2009.

This agreement has facilitated increased high-level visits and deeper bilateral cooperation.

The Türkiye-Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina Trilateral Consultation Mechanism and the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP) have also played a crucial role in fostering regional stability and collaboration.

In 2024, the trade volume between Türkiye and Croatia reached approximately $1 billion, reflecting steady economic cooperation.

Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP) brings together Türkiye, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Greece, Croatia, Moldova and Montenegro is a symbol of the common will of the countries of the region to improve cooperation among themselves and to bring lasting stability in South East Europe.

SEECP is the only Balkan cooperation forum in the region. In this sense, SEECP could be mentioned as the political recipient of Balkan cooperation models of the 1930s, 1950s, and 1980s.

Türkiye also attaches due importance to the fact that the Regional Cooperation Council, which became operational in February 2008, along with the South East Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP) will constitute beneficial and complementary mechanisms regarding the Euro-Atlantic Orientation of the Region.

SEECP Countries also occupy an important part of international politics. All countries are members of OSCE and some of them are EU, NATO, BSEC, and CIS.

Growing defense ties and military exports

Defense cooperation has emerged as a key pillar of Türkiye-Croatia relations. In November 2024, Croatia and Turkish defense firm Baykar signed a procurement agreement, marking Türkiye’s first major arms export to Croatia.

The deal is expected to enhance Croatia’s defense capabilities and further deepen security ties between the two NATO allies.