Reception at the Croatian Embassy in honor of the Speaker of Croatian Parliament Vladimir Seks and Minister of Foreign Affairs Miomir Zuzul

Washington, January 20, 2004 – A reception was held today at the Croatian Embassy to U.S., in the honor of Croatian delegation that visited U.S., led by the Speaker of Croatian Parliament Vladimir Seks and Minister of Foreign Affairs Miomir Zuzul.

The reception that was given by the Croatian Ambassador to the U.S. Dr Ivan Grdesic saw 150 or so Croatian-Americans from Washington DC and surrounding areas

Speaker of Croatian Parliament Vladimir Seks and Croatia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Miomir Zuzul visited U.S., invited by congressmen and senators, to join the joint session of the Congress and the Senate at which the President of the U.S. George W. Bush will deliver his “State of the Union” address to the nation.

This is their first official visit to the U.S. after the Croatian parliamentary election last November.

Both Seks and Zuzul have requested support from Croatian Americans in efforts to strengthen relations with the United States and win U.S. support for Croatia's aspirations to join Euro-Atlantic institutions, particularly NATO.

Zuzul said at the reception that it was great recognition to receive an invitation to attend a session of Congress at which the U.S. president would deliver a speech on the state of the nation. It shows that "the United States is ready to take a big step forward in its relations with Croatia," he added.

"Our message at... meetings (with a number of Congressmen and Senators) will be that we are ready for friendly and good relations with the U.S.," the Croatian foreign minister said.

Zuzul said that Croatia and the U.S. could be partners because they had common interests.

"Our main message will be our request for admission into NATO," Zuzul said, adding that other topics concerning relations between the two countries would also be discussed.

Seks said that bilateral meetings would "deepen ties between the two countries," mainly between the U.S. Congress and the Croatian Parliament, Sabor.

Seks said that Croatia would cooperate with Croatian Americans so that they could act as "a strong democratic Croatian lobby in the U.S. in order to ensure that Croatian interests are better recognized and represented and that Croatia has effective support for its admission into Euro-Atlantic institutions."

Seks said that Croatia expected Croatian Americans to increase investment in its economy.

The meeting of Croatian-Americans with Seks, Zuzul and their colleagues was also an opportunity to exchange information and experiences, as well as a chance to remember the distinguished “King Legacy Award for Outstanding National and International Service”, granted to Minister Zuzul 4 years ago, while he was the Ambassador to Washington. The same day, 16 January 2000, that award was also granted to General Colin Powell, now American Secretary of State. This award expresses the recognition of the contribution to understanding of the life and work of Martin Luther King and his messages of peace and justice.