Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has announced the continuation of military support for Ukraine, despite threats from Russia.
“When you have friends in need, you show your friendship, your solidarity and your support in full. This is what we do. This is what we will continue to do in the future, despite all the threats you might mention,” Plenkovic said at a press conference within the framework of the Crimean Platform in Kyiv on Wednesday, answering the question whether he was not afraid of threats from Russia while providing military support to Ukraine.
According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, the Croatian prime minister added that his country “is a NATO member, a member of the European Union, a country that knows when the right time comes to help our friends.”
“We will also support you in rebuilding your energy sector by providing you with the specific know-how that Croatia has in the field of demining. This is a huge task, and that is why we held the first International Conference of Heads of Mine Action last year in Croatia,” Plenković said.
“And, of course, what few countries can provide you with is the experience of our state prosecutors, our judges, our specialized police units in prosecuting war crimes,” he added.
The head of the Croatian government also noted that Croatia continues to accept refugees and war veterans from Ukraine for treatment and accommodation in its veterans’ centers, “and we will continue to do so, as well as to accept groups of Ukrainian children visiting Croatia.”
“We will continue to help you and assist you with military assistance, political assistance, our diplomatic initiatives, we are very happy to host you in Dubrovnik in early October, where we will hold a summit between Ukraine and the countries of Southeast Europe… You can count on Croatia in all the issues you face here today,” Plenkovic added.
As previously reported on the Croatian government’s website, during Plenkovic’s visit to Kyiv, a new package of bilateral assistance from Croatia to Ukraine was presented.
On Wednesday morning, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković arrived in Ukraine on a visit, Croatian media reported.
According to HRT Vijesti, in Kyiv, Plenkovic will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, and other Ukrainian officials.
Plenković was joined in Ukraine by Croatian Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuks, Minister of Justice and Digital Transformation Damir Habiyan, and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić-Radman.
Together with his delegation, the Croatian Prime Minister will take part in the Crimean Platform Summit.
Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Crimean Platform Summit would take place on Wednesday, September 11.
Bangladesh’s army commander, General Waqer ul-Zaman, said on Monday that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had fled the country.
“The commander confirmed that Sheikh Hasina had fled the country and said he would help form an interim government,” The Times of India reports.
Earlier, a number of media outlets reported that Sheikh Hasina had resigned as prime minister and fled Bangladesh.
The commander assured that the authorities will investigate all cases of deaths during the unrest and called for trust in the army. The general also called on his fellow citizens to avoid acts of violence and to adhere to law and order. Meanwhile, according to some reports, protesters set fire to the office of the prime minister’s Awami League party in Dhaka. Meanwhile, India’s border security forces have been put on high alert along more than 4,000 kilometers of the border with Bangladesh.
Protests in Bangladesh began in July at a university campus – students opposed the return of the practice of quoting 30% of jobs to family members of veterans of the country’s 1971 war of independence. This practice was abolished in 2018, but returned by court order in June of this year. Students recognized it as discriminatory, especially given the high unemployment in the country.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has confirmed his participation in the Peace Summit in Switzerland, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said following a conversation with the head of the Croatian government.
“I congratulated him on his appointment as Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia and expressed gratitude for Croatia’s continued support for Ukraine. I also thanked Prime Minister Plenkovic for confirming his participation in the Peace Summit in Switzerland,” Zelenskyy wrote in a telegram on Monday.
The parties also discussed Croatia’s support for the start of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU and the possibility of joining the G7 Vilnius Declaration of Support for Ukraine.
Prime Minister Denis Shmygal says that in Ukraine will create the State Office for the development of industrial parks.
“We increase our self-sufficiency, strengthen the production and industrial potential. One of the key tools in this direction will be industrial parks. This year we allocate UAH 1 billion for their development,” Shmygal said at a government meeting on Friday.
According to Prime Minister, the Cabinet on Friday approved the procedure for the use of these funds: for the construction of infrastructure of industrial parks, for compensation for connection to networks, for compensation of the interest rate on loans taken for development and investment.
“Also, the State Office for the development of industrial parks will be created. We will use the experience of Singapore, Turkey, Poland to make industrial parks the growth points of our industry and economy,” he said.
In addition, on Friday, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to create two industrial parks.
In particular, one of the parks will be created in Vinnitsa region (investments in its creation will amount to more than UAH 50 million), and the second industrial park will be in Ivano-Frankivsk region, (investments in its creation and development may amount to UAH 1.5 billion).
“Thanks to the creation of these two industrial parks, more than 1,000 jobs in the processing industry will be created,” Prime Minister said.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and a government delegation have arrived in Ukraine on a visit, Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reports.
The delegation also includes the ministers of justice, environment and energy – Atanas Slavov, Yulian Popov and Rumen Radev, deputy ministers of defense and foreign affairs – Stanimir Georgiev and Tikhomir Stoychev, as well as the head of the Defense Ministry, Admiral Emil Eftimov.
Details of the visit were not disclosed.
