​(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson)

President Reuven Rivlin was today (Tuesday, 24 July 2018) received with an official welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Zagreb as he began a State Visit to Croatia. The President was received by President of Croatia, Kolinda Garber-Kitzrovic. After the ceremony, they went on to hold an extended discussion with the participation of Minister of Agriculture Uri Ariel and Minister of Economy Eli Cohen and their counterparts. At the end of the meeting, President Rivlin and President Garber-Kitzrovicmade joint statements to the media.
 
In his remarks, President Rivlin thanked President Garber-Kitzrovic for the warm welcome, and congratulated her and all the people of Croatia on the national football team’s great achievement of reaching the World Cup Final.
“Madam President, the whole world saw the pictures of you supporting your team. And the whole world saw a leader who is proud of her country, and loves and cares for her people. We appreciate this very much.”
 
He added, “We also appreciate the deep and close friendship between our peoples, and the growing trade and cooperation between our nations.”
 
The President stressed the importance of remembering what happened to the Jews of Croatia during the Holocaust, “We are together looking to the future. But we also look, learn, and teach about the past, our shared past -not always an easy past. A past with many dark moments, but a past with many heroes too. There are one hundred and fifteen Croatian Righteous among the Nations, and every one of them is a light in the darkness.”
 
He continued, “Even today, we must face together the threats of hatred and terror. We must work to keep our peoples safe, on our streets and online. In the war on terror, the home front is the front-line; our cooperation against terror is a clear statement to all who want to harm us: we will defend our peoples and our values, and we will do this united, together.”
 
The President concluded by inviting President Garber-Kitzrovic to visit Israel again, and added with a smile: "Maybe next time, you will be the champions of the world.”
 
In her remarks, President Garber-Kitzrovic spoke of the deep impressions she had from her personal visit to Israel in 2015. She noted that this was the first State Visit of an Israeli president after two previous official visits, and that she saw this as evidence of progress in the relations between the two countries.
 
She said, “Your visit here is very important not only in light of the excellent bilateral relations between Croatia and Israel, but also because of our communities, especially the Jewish community in Croatia. The talks between our delegations were very open, constructive and friendly. Croatia and Israel as Mediterranean countries should examine all opportunities for deepening cooperation. There are many common issues facing us, such as immigration, security issues, and of course joint opportunities in the energy, industrial, agricultural and other economic sectors.”
 
On her country’s purchase of F-16s, she noted, “Between Israel and Croatia, and between us personally, there is a friendship of allies. The emphasis of our talks today is on military and economic cooperation: the F-16 purchase has strengthened our relations to a new level. This is not just a sale of military equipment, but a wider package which is the first step towards a long-term strategic partnership between Croatia and Israel.”
 
She noted, “The Ministry of Defense is very pleased with the current negotiations leading to agreements, and I am optimistic that the final agreement on the supply of F-16s will be signed this autumn,” and stressed, “I am pleased with the great interest in future investment in cooperation with the Israeli army. This is a great opportunity to develop the connection between our industries and our security sectors. I expect that the security conference in which we will participate tomorrow will create new preconditions and additional opportunities for security cooperation. I believe that our cooperation will transcend industrial cooperation only.”
 
On the issue of Holocaust remembrance she said, “In our conversation we also talked about our shared history, and what we have to do to prevent these tragedies from happening again. The foundations of Croatian democracy are well founded on anti-fascism, leading to modern Croatia, which was forced to defend its freedom.”
 
President Garber-Kitzrovic stressed, “Croatia's governments have always expressed deep appreciation for the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Croatia regards its cooperation with Israeli institutions in Holocaust remembrance as very important in preserving the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Croatia has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to the global struggle against anti-Semitism and all other forms of xenophobia.”
 
In their meeting, President Rivlin reviewed in detail the regional reality in which Israel was operating and said that Israel was interested in expanding cooperation in all areas - both civilian and security. “As testament to this,” he noted, “I am accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Economy, the Head of the Export Institute, the head of SIBAT (The International Defense Cooperation Directorate of the Israel Ministry of Defense), and the CEOs of defense industry companies who have come to meetings with their counterparts and to sign cooperation agreements.”
 
President Rivlin welcomed the advanced acquisition by Croatia's of F-16 aircraft from Israel, and stressed that this is a clear expression of the strengthening of security cooperation. “I would like to congratulate you on your decision,” the President said, expressing the hope that all necessary approvals would be received and that the countries would sign the agreement as soon as possible. According to the agreement, Israel will sell 12 F-16s to Croatia.
 
While discussing the regional challenges facing Israel, President Rivlin thanked the Croatian President for her country’s growing support of Israel since 2016 in international fora. He stressed that Israel appreciated the support and hoped that it would continue in the future.
 
“We are facing an expanding map of threats,” said President Rivlin, and stressed the need for international support for the struggle against these dangers. “Iran's consolidation in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, their production of precision munitions in Syria and Lebanon and support for Shi’ite militias and terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas is unacceptable to us in any way, and the international community must work proactively and in coordination to remove Iran from Syria and Lebanon, for the benefit of stability in the region.” The President added, “The nuclear deal left Iran with research and development tools and brought in billions of dollars to Iran that financed consolidation and subversion throughout the Middle East. The US secession from the agreement creates a unique window of opportunity to exert economic pressure on Iran to effectively limit its nuclear capabilities.”

The international community must work to remove Iran from Syria and Lebanon, for the benefit of stability in the region. The US secession from the nuclear agreement creates a unique window of opportunity to effectively limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities.