‘In two years, Croatia will be more successful and wealthier’

The President of the Republic of Croatia, Ivo Josipović, stated yesterday at the 298th Sinjska Alka that he is confident that Croatia will be more successful and wealthier in two years when the 300th Alka will be held.

– In two years, when we celebrate 300 years of the Alka, I believe we will certainly have a Croatia that is successful, wealthier, and pleasant to live in. We will have Sinj where perhaps those factories that have unfortunately been shut down will reopen, we will have a homeland where justice and fairness prevail, we will have the Alka with new stands and a racetrack. And I know that in two years we will say: Croatia – ‘in the middle’, Sinj – ‘in the middle’, Alka – ‘in the middle’, said Josipović.

He assessed that there is no more suitable day for holding the Alka than the day before the Day of Victory and Homeland Gratitude.

– The values celebrated in memory of the year 1715, the victory over the superior Ottoman aggressor, up to today, are best embodied in the Homeland War. Therefore, I especially greet all Croatian defenders, heroes of the Homeland War, and their families, he said.

Although he emphasized that there is no longer a war today in which these values need to be proven, he is convinced that ‘each of our citizens is ready tomorrow, if needed, to once again show that the spirit we nurture here is among us’.

The President assessed that Croatia is a successful country because it has become a member of the EU, but also that it has serious economic problems that require courage, determination, and readiness for sacrifice, virtues demonstrated in the past.

– Croatia has role models from the past, in which we have shown that we are a people who know, can, and want, a people who have something to give to Europe. This, today’s Alka has a new dimension. It has shown that we are aware that today there are no greater virtues and values than peace, friendship, and readiness to live with other countries, nations, and people, assessed Josipović, adding that the best example of this is Turkey, whose ambassador was for the first time at the Sinjska Alka last year.

– But the future is ahead of us, and I am convinced that this future is a good future, Josipović concluded.