Consular Meeting Held at Croatian Embassy

Consultations among members of consular missions in North America at the Embassy

Washington, D.C., March 5, 2005 – A meeting among consular representatives from Croatian diplomatic missions in North America was held at the Croatian Embassy on Saturday, March 5. The regular consultations were summoned with the purpose of improving coordination between consular departments within Croatian diplomatic missions, in order to further better the standard of consular services. Presiding over the meeting were members of a delegation from Croatia, which was headed by Mira Martinec, assistant to the minister of foreign affairs and European integration, and which included Vinko Ljubičić and Zoran Bradić, officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, as well as Filip Damjanović, an official at the Ministry of the Interior.

The meeting provided an opportunity for a constructive and open exchange of ideas and information regarding the work of consular offices. Participants expressed overall satisfaction on this matter, though, it was agreed, there is room for improving collaboration and efficacy in certain areas.

On Monday, March 7, assistant to the minister of foreign affairs and European integration Mira Martinec visited the George P. Schultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center at the Department of State, which prepares participants for work in the consular branches of U.S. diplomatic missions abroad. Institute Director Andrew Simkin held a presentation on the preparations and general training of its participants, which was attended by Vinko Ljubičić, Zoran Bradić, Filip Damjanović, and Hrvoje Petrušić, minister-counselor at the Croatian Embassy.