Admitted to the Poles: We Are Not Managing Investments Well

The Croatian-Polish Economic Forum was held at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

The President of the Republic of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, accompanied by numerous Polish entrepreneurs, will be on an official state visit to the Republic of Croatia from May 13 to 14.  The forum was attended by representatives of various Polish economic and financial institutions from the transport, IT, construction, and food industries, who wish to strengthen activities in the Croatian market.

The President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Nadan Vidošević, emphasized in his welcoming speech that this cooperation is an opportunity to realize the idea of American President Woodrow Wilson when the young generation of American and English diplomats revived the Enlightenment ideals of liberal peace and universal democratic order during the Paris Peace Conference and attempted to implement them through the establishment of the League of Nations, with the Balkans intended to be a neutral area.

“Now we have a completely new perspective on the entire situation. Croats and Poles are allies, but we must, like freshly graduated students, define our own views while respecting others. Our primary market is in Southeast Europe, but I ask you, Polish colleagues, not to forget that the Adriatic is your ‘warm sea.’ You have made a significant leap from a transitioning country and therefore you are a great inspiration to us. It is especially interesting how you have successfully attracted greenfield and brownfield investments. What is fascinating is that you have never been blind followers of the European Union, so I believe there is much to learn from you. We expect your capital in Croatia, and that is why you are here now. I must admit that we Croats are known for not managing investments well, both foreign and domestic. We have an inefficient administration, but we must not forget that the Croatian people defended this territory with their blood and that the fundamental structure of our economy suffered here. The war set us back, so now we must move towards our goal patiently. Everyone who wants to invest in Croatia is welcome. We consider you strategic partners, allies, and friends. I remember how Pope John Paul II once referred to Polish pilgrims as ‘white Croats’ – and that is proof of the connection between our two nations,” said Vidošević.

President Ivo Josipović also emphasized the importance of Polish-Croatian cooperation before and after Croatia’s entry into the EU in his welcoming speech.

“Our challenge of entering the EU is also our opportunity. I thank Poland for the assistance it has provided us. It is true, as colleague Vidošević said, that we Croats do not manage investments well. Our entrepreneurial ambitions are simply not developed, but the poor investment climate in Croatia is something that is slowly but surely changing. Croatia will find a way to stimulate investments and attract investors. The Poland-Croatia relationship is good because we want to learn from you. Just because we are a small country in terms of population does not mean we are small in terms of the ambitions we have. The tourism sector is very important to us, so it is true what Polish President Bronisław Komorowski said in our previous conversation, that he is surprised we do not have more investors willing to invest in Croatian tourism,” concluded Josipović.

President Komorowski added that it is in Poland’s interest to build new foundations of the old Croatian-Polish friendship.

“The foundation of cooperation between our nations is business and the joint realization of profit. Good business means that both sides are satisfied. In Poland, we have succeeded in giving people the opportunity to earn money and live decently. Our banking system is not a source of problems but a source of money. It is efficient and saved citizens’ savings during crisis times. Our beginning was also linked to the bankruptcy of the socialist system. The arrival of foreign capital was a matter of life and death for Poland at that time. But we succeeded! We opened up to the outside world, and over the last 20 years, 160 billion euros of foreign investments have come to Poland – and we are not stopping there. Poland is very attractive to foreign investors because it produces over 150 billion euros worth of products. On the Warsaw Stock Exchange, we achieve over 460 billion euros in turnover, with a capitalization of 160 billion euros, of which 70 percent are Polish companies and 30 percent are foreign. We are larger than the Vienna Stock Exchange, which was once our model. We were, like Napoleon once, lucky. But I must say that not everything is about luck. Hard work is important. Therefore, I want to tell you that you should not be afraid of entering the European Union. We were also scared that the Germans would take part of our territory, our customs, and our culture. That did not happen, and now we even regret a bit that the Germans did not invest more. You should not be afraid of 21 million companies in the European market. Understand that this is just your opportunity for healthy competition and the possibility for great development and reaching out to the world,” concluded Komorowski.