What is the 'special gift' Croatian PM gave Modi
What's the story
During his visit to Croatia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was gifted a "special gift" by his Croatian counterpart, Andrej Plenkovic.
The gift was a reprint of Vezdin's Sanskrit Grammar, an important cultural artifact that highlights the historic ties between India and Croatia.
The original work was published in 1790 by Croatian scholar and missionary Filip Vezdin during his stay in India.
Cultural appreciation
'Remarkable symbol of enduring intellectual, cultural bonds...'
PM Modi thanked Plenkovic for the gift, calling it a "remarkable symbol" of the enduring intellectual and cultural bonds between India and Croatia.
He hoped these bonds would strengthen further in the future.
According to ANI, Prime Minister Plenkovic also presented Modi with a book titled Croatia & India: Bilateral Navigator for Diplomats and Business, written by Croatian diplomat Sinisa Grgic.
Bilateral talks
Discussions on strengthening economic cooperation between the 2 countries
The two leaders also discussed ways to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries. This included trade, investment, and tourism.
PM Plenkovic recognized India as an important Asian trading partner for Croatia, with bilateral trade reaching $242 million last year.
He noted a 10% increase in trade in the first three months of 2023 and an uptick in Indian tourists visiting Croatia.
Sectoral agreements
Agreements signed; book presented to PM by Croatian diplomat
During the visit, they also signed agreements to enhance cooperation in agriculture, culture, science, and technology.
They agreed that there were significant opportunities for increased cooperation in sectors like infrastructure, ports and shipping, digitalization, AI, renewable energy, and pharma.
Furthermore, they recognized the need to encourage greater business-to-business collaboration and facilitate investment partnerships and joint ventures. Towards this objective, Modi suggested that Croatia could leverage India's skilled talent and called for setting up institutional collaboration in the field of mobility.
EU engagement
Visit seen as step toward strengthening India's engagement with EU
Following the talks, four MOUs in the fields of agriculture, science and technology, and culture and on renewal of a Hindi Chair were signed.
PM Modi's visit to Croatia is seen as a step toward strengthening India's engagement with European Union partners.
Modi's visit to the Balkan nation is the first by an Indian PM, marking an important milestone in the bilateral relationship.