Ambienta Opened at the Zagreb Fair

Petar Čobanković, Minister of Regional Development, Forestry and Water Management, today officially opened the 35th Ambienta, a furniture, interior design, and related industries fair, at the Zagreb Fair on behalf of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, in front of around a hundred businesspeople.

Among the guests were Ivo Jelušić, Deputy Mayor of Zagreb, and Minister of Culture Božo Biškupić, as well as numerous entrepreneurs, members of parliament, and other public and state officials. After the introductory speech by the director of the Zagreb Fair, Katja Luka Kovačić, Minister Čobanković delivered a speech highlighting the significant importance of the wood sector in the overall export balance of the Croatian economy.

– The government has accepted the patronage of this year’s Ambienta because it wants to send a clear message, namely to show that the wood sector is of strategic importance for the overall Croatian economy. By strengthening institutions, we have created a framework for the faster development of the wood-industrial sector, but we are not stopping here and we will not stop. We must continue to develop and implement innovations in this sector to ensure that our wood industry remains competitive. This sector is one of the few in Croatia that shows a surplus in foreign trade exchange – said Čobanković, declaring Ambienta open.

Čobanković also noted that three years ago Croatia mainly exported logs, while today it primarily exports finished products such as parquet, laminates, and ready-made furniture, adding that Croatia will collect approximately one billion dollars from the export of wood products by the end of this year. He also took the opportunity to invite the entire audience in the congress hall of the Zagreb Fair to a workshop titled “Competitiveness of the Croatian Wood Sector,” organized by the Zagreb Fair, his ministry, and the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Zagreb. (Siniša Maksimović)