President Milanović Attends NATO 75th Celebratory Event in Washington
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović attended on Tuesday in Washington, together with all the heads of state and government of NATO member states, the celebratory event of the 75 years of NATO, which also launched the Alliance’s annual summit. The celebratory event held in the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium – on the eve of today’s summit of heads of state and government of NATO member states – was used to recall the reasons and history of the founding of NATO, as well as the role of the Alliance today, which was discussed at the celebratory event by the President of the USA Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Accompanying President Milanović at the celebratory event marking the 75th anniversary of NATO were Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ivan Anušić and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman, who are also members of the official delegation of the President of the Republic to the summit in Washington.
On the first day of his official stay in Washington, President Milanović and his wife Sanja Music Milanović also attended a reception for the Croatian-American community and American friends of Croatia organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia to the USA. President Milanović addressed the numerous guests and emphasized the reputation and importance of the Croatian community in America. “I will not go into the domestic political issues of Croatia, because they mainly serve to separate and disunite. There are things we agree on and there are things we disagree on. However, when I see in front of me such a progressive and successful community of people who gather here for the simple opportunity to drink together and think about Croatia, it fills my heart with optimism and the conviction that all that I have been doing for years was not in vain,” President Milanović said among other things.
Finally, President Milanović specially greeted the Mayor of Biloxi, Andrew Gilich, who travelled all the way from Mississippi just to attend the ceremony. In this sense, he expressed his gratitude to Mayor Gilich for coming, stressing the importance of such meetings for strengthening ties and deepening understanding between nations.
The Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ivan Anušić and the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Tihomir Kundid, who also arrived in Washington for the NATO summit, were also present at the reception in the Embassy.
On the sidelines of the NATO summit, President Milanović met on Tuesday with the President of the Republic of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani with whom he discussed Kosovo’s efforts related to Euro-Atlantic integration. President Osmani thanked President Milanović for clearly and firmly supporting Kosovo on its path to membership in NATO and other international organizations. They also discussed current events in Southeast Europe and confirmed their mutual commitment to continue deepening relations between the two states.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas