Interview with Croatian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Branko Zebić to APA
- How would you describe the development of diplomatic relations between Croatia and Azerbaijan? What are the key priorities in the relations between the two countries?
- Bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Croatia is developing and has been developing steadily, especially when we have now opened embassies in both capitals - in Zagreb and Croatian embassy from 2019 in Baku. But first of all, I should say that the basis of the good relations is good relations between the President Ilham Aliyev and the Croatian presidents so far. There is a framework for the relations coming from this good high level political relationship. The second framework is our strategic partnership that we signed 2013. We continue good relations in all sectors and it is especially visible in the sector of energy.
- What advancements have been made in recent years concerning the economic and trade relations between Croatia and Azerbaijan?
- We are witnessing continued growth of the trade exchange between Croatia and Azerbaijan. It is, as I said, primarily because of very good cooperation in energy sector. For example, when I arrived here in 2019, the trade exchange was USD 300 million. Now it's almost a billion. I think that in 2023, trade exchange between Croatia and Azerbaijan was even more than USD 1 billion. Having said that, and emphasizing this huge number, this is very large amount of trade exchange for the relatively two small countries divided with thousands and thousands of kilometers. One should say that the big majority of this trade is actually export of Azerbaijani oil to Croatia. This export is growing and that's why our trade exchange is also growing. I think it will be close to 1 billion this year. I don't have any data till the end of the year, but it was almost USD 800 million during first 10 months of the 2024, so it will be close to a billion.
- What can you say about the cooperation between Azerbaijan and Croatia in the military and security sectors? What steps are being taken by both countries in this field?
- So far, there was no any significant cooperation in the military and security sectors. There were some visits. The Azerbaijani Minister of Defense visited Croatia. But so far there was no any significant cooperation. I would say that the reason for that, at least for last couple of years, is the situation in Ukraine. Our companies are pretty much occupied with this war, facilitating Ukrainian defense on commercial and also on humanitarian and other scales. As I said, there was no any significant cooperation. We are not members of the same security organizations, we are not neighboring countries. In terms of commercial cooperation in this field, the obstacle is that our companies are all mainly private companies and they are medium sized or small companies, which they cannot produce enough for what is needed in Ukraine. So there is no room for big cooperation with the world. Regarding our needs for the defense, we, as a member of the NATO, should have NATO standards and defense equipments. So it's from mainly from NATO countries. The last huge investments in our defense were the contract with France regarding the 12 Rafael jets fighters.
- The delivery of Azerbaijani gas to Croatia through the PPD company and MET Group strengthens Azerbaijan's role as a reliable energy partner and gas supplier in Europe. How do you assess the Croatian government's approach to this project, and what potential opportunities do you see for the further expansion of this cooperation in the future?
- Cooperation in gas sector is new one. Croatia is, I think the 10th, probably the last EU countries that have started to import Azerbaijani gas. This contract is of two contracts I know made by two private companies. One is PPD, one is MET GROUP, which is originally Hungarian. This is a private business in Croatia. But government is supporting these endeavors at the moment. It's not about a huge amount of gas - I think it’s 140 million cubic meters per year, but with possibility of extending this cooperation. It's not worth it to emphasize that Croatia has LNG terminal and with this LNG terminal, which will be from year 2026, with capacity of 6.1 billion cubic meters. This amount will be much, much more than what Croatia needs. It means that Croatia is becoming energy hub for the Southeast Europe and for the center of Europe. This is also important to have in mind with the view of future cooperation with Azerbaijan in the gas sector.
- How strategically significant is the Ion-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) project for Croatia? What impact do you think it will have on the country's energy security and economy?
- Unfortunately, Ion-Adriatic Pipeline is not possible for the moment. It has not been discussed among the stakeholders anymore, because, Azerbaijan, Croatia advocated for this branch of the Southern Gas Corridor. But unfortunately we didn't succeed to implement it because there was not enough support from Brussels, the European Union. Carrying in mind this green agenda of the European Union and the other obstacles was that after some time, this is quite old vision, and not reproach. So after some time, another possibility for the south-eastern Europe may emerge. This is a possibility which actually is now actualized and is working. This is the possibility of exporting Azerbaijani gas to south-eastern Europe through interconnections. Using the existing national pipelines in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, and just to make interconnections between these countries, is how it works now. That's how Azerbaijan expanded the network to European countries, mainly to EU countries. So that gas is not going only to service corridor, but through other ways too. But just to say that Croatia didn't give up from the Ion-Adriatic Pipeline. So you never know what the future bring us, whether there will be any change in these green politics in Brussels or not. It's not concluded forever.
- As the relationship between Azerbaijan and Croatia strengthens, is Croatia showing a growing interest in deeper cooperation with the Turkic world?
- The cooperation between Croatia and Turkic world is very old, you know, and from Ottoman Empire. I would say, there was not only a fight, there was also a cooperation even at that time - in 15th, 16th, 17th centuries, but connections were all the time present. We have very good relations with Türkiye, we have very good relations with Azerbaijan. Now also last couple of years, we are also developing our cooperation with Central Asia, Turkic states. Just recently, our minister of foreign affairs visited these countries and he's going to Kazakhstan very soon. I think also prime minister will visit one of these countries in the near future. Cooperation between Croatia and Turkic world exists and is developing.
- What exchange programs are being implemented between Azerbaijani and Croatian students, and what partnerships exist between educational institutions, as well as scientific collaborations? Furthermore, what plans are in place for the development of this cooperation in the future?
- We have developed this cooperation on both tracks - institutionally and state institutions and agencies signing their memorandums. So these cooperations are mainly part of the intergovernmental cooperation between Croatia and Azerbaijan. The state and private universities are cooperating very well. During my tenure as ambassador, several agreements were signed, for example, between ADA University and the Zagreb School of Economics in Croatia, with a faculty in Split, with a faculty in Varaždin, and also the University of Languages. They signed a memorandum of cooperation and mutual visits were carried out both in Zagreb and in Baku. Faculty for humanities of University School of Croatian Language and Culture is the largest faculty in Croatia. This is the faculty where you can study all humanities from philosophy to education, every language, even so called dead languages like old Greek, Sanskrit, psychology, history. This is a faculty of approximately 9,000 students. But we don't call it university as in. University is only Zagreb University. So this is like faculty. But of course it's university in here.
Photo - Ilkin Nabiyev ©️ APA GROUP
