The creation of the Italophonia community “will contribute to the strengthening of collaboration between Italy and Croatia, especially culture and science”. This was stated by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic in a video message sent at the first conference on Italofonia which took place at Villa Madama. “Croatia and Italy are today neighbors with whom we have very rich and extensive cooperation and maintain a continuous dialogue”, continued Plenkovic, underlining that “Italy is one of our most important economic partners”. The two countries, he added, cooperate closely in the EU, NATO and in all other multilateral bodies.
Plenkovic then highlighted that “in Croatia, learning Italian is favored and supported”, and stated that “Croatia and Italy have signed a bilateral agreement on minority rights. The Italian community is represented in Croatia at the level of the vice-presidency of the Parliament. For us, it is important that members of the minority maintain their identity and that the Croatian government supports the Italian community with large financial resources”.
