Martina Dalić met with ministers from neighboring countries on Tuesday to discuss the topic of the settlement and further steps in resolving the situation in Agrokor and the operations of Agrokor’s companies in the region.
The meeting held in Bled was attended by the Minister of Economic Development and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia Zdravko Počivalšek, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mirko Šarović, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić, and the representative of the Ministry of Economy of Montenegro Biljana Jakić.
Zdravko Počivalšek, Mirko Šarović, Biljana Jakić, Martina Dalić, Rasim Ljajić
– The companies owned by Agrokor and the businesses within the Agrokor system are large and significant in each of our neighboring countries. Therefore, their interest in the course of the extraordinary administration process is clear, and I would like to thank my colleague Počivalšek for organizing today’s meeting, Minister Dalić stated at the outset.
– We discussed the progress of the extraordinary administration process in Croatia so far, the results, and the agreement reached among creditors, Dalić emphasized.
Interest in Problem Resolution
– I believe that achieving a preliminary agreement among creditors is a significant step and opens the way to reaching a final settlement. I take this opportunity to reiterate that there is still much work ahead for the extraordinary administration; however, this agreement provides strong arguments for realizing what I have been talking about throughout this process, which is for the extraordinary administration to complete the process within the deadlines prescribed by law, by July 10, she added.
All participants expressed interest in resolving the issues in Agrokor and positively assessed the manner in which the extraordinary administration process is being conducted, as well as the plans for concluding the process.
Minister Počivalšek highlighted that Slovenia is particularly interested in the fate of Mercator, which employs 10,000 people, and praised the actions of the Croatian government in addressing the issues.
– After a year, we have come to see the light at the end of the tunnel, he concluded.
Regional Problem
– What is at the focus of our interest is the rebranding of Mercator and its return to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is important that obligations to suppliers are regularly met. Konzum has entered a stabilization phase, but the deadlines in relation to suppliers are somewhat worse. We support the efforts of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, Šarović said, supporting the trend of Agrokor’s stabilization.
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia and Minister Rasim Ljajić stated after the meeting that he believes in resolving the issues in Agrokor in all countries.
– This is definitely a regional problem. We are fated to be interested in resolving this issue. It seems that only problems can force us to cooperate. This could be a model for resolving other open issues – firsthand information and joint problem-solving, he conveyed.
– It is clear that the course of the extraordinary administration process and the preservation of the stability of the Agrokor system’s operations in Croatia has contributed to and enabled those companies from the Agrokor system that were not included in the extraordinary administration process, namely those in neighboring countries, to continue operating and thereby contribute to the preservation of economic stability in each of the individual states, Dalić concluded.
