We have a warm relationship with Croatia built on historical ties and strong family links through the Croatian expatriate community in New Zealand.
Croatian immigrants began arriving in New Zealand from the 1850s and today there are more than 100,000 New Zealanders of Croatian heritage. There are also more than 2,500 Croatian nationals living here.
Political links developed more recently, particularly after Croatia joined the European Union in 2013. Since then there has been an increase in high-level visits to Croatia.
Our deepening relationship is reflected in these recent initiatives:
New Zealand and Croatia cooperate in the international arena, where we share interests particularly as supporters of the United Nations’ peacekeeping efforts. New Zealand played a peacekeeping role during and following the Balkans war, and Croatia is active in peacekeeping operations and post-conflict recovery.
|
Total trade in goods |
$4.8 million |
|
|
Exports to Croatia |
$2.4 million |
Top exports: molluscs, sheep meat, machinery |
|
Imports from Croatia |
$2.4 million |
Top imports: self-adhesive plastic items, electrical transformers, soups |
|
GDP |
US$57 billion |
|
| GDP per capita | US$13,494 | (NZ GDP per capita is US$43,837) |
| GDP growth | -0.4% |
Despite the recent growth in political relations, the trade relationship between New Zealand and Croatia has been slower to develop. Two-way trade has fluctuated in the past few years but remains at modest levels - in 2010 it was $4.5 million, in 2012 trade totalled $11.2 million, and then fell back to $4.8 million in 2014.
A number of New Zealand companies have a presence in Croatia in industries such as shipbuilding, meat products and wine.
There are good prospects for expanding trade and economic links with Croatia, and MFAT and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise are working there to promote doing business with New Zealand. Areas with potential for increased cooperation include agriculture, aquaculture, energy, fisheries, food processing, horticulture, viticulture and tourism.
Information on New Zealand’s Working Holiday Scheme with Croatia will be available soon.
Rt Hon Trevor Mallard, Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, visited Berlin and Munich for a two day bilateral visit on 14-15 January 2019.
Anzac Day events will be held in Italy. Find out details for Rome, Milan and Sicily commemorations.
A new memorial honouring the role of New Zealand Māori and other service people in the First World War will be unveiled in the Passchendaele Memorial Park, next to the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, Zonnebeke on Anzac Day, 25 April 2019.
The EU and New Zealand reaffirmed their commitment to deepen their partnership in the coming years, and explored opportunities for further collaboration in various fields.