November 28 (SeeNews) - Croatia is planning to invest in its Adriatic ports' infrastructure in order to attract Chinese exports, prime minister Andrej Plenkovic has said.
The use of Croatian seaports as an entry point to Europe for Chinese exports was one of the main topics of discussion between the prime ministers of Croatia and China on the sidelines of a meeting of heads of government of China and 16 central and eastern European (CEE) countries, or the 16+1 Summit, held in Budapest, Hungary, the Croatian government said in a press release on Monday.
"Croatia is interested in Rijeka, Zadar, Split and Ploce becoming European ports toward which Chinese exports will gravitate, and we continue working on investments in the port of Rijeka," Plenkovic said.
He also said that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Croatia is expected to increase 60% year-on-year in 2017, while growth is expected to hit 100% next year in relation to 2016.
Cooperation with China towards growing small and medium-sized enterprises is another Croatian priority, Plenkovic added.
Next spring, Croatia is expected to host a meeting in Dubrovnik, which will bring together ministers of tourism from Central and Eastern Europe and China.