Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Croatia.

Croatia is a valued partner of the United Kingdom, both bilaterally and as a NATO Ally. In 2022 we signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement, covering defence cooperation, and in 2023 a Joint Declaration on Bilateral Cooperation, which committed us to working together on shared priorities, from support to Ukraine, scientific collaboration, clean energy, to tackling irregular migration through the Western Balkans route. We also hold annual joint military exercises, and over 800,000 British tourists visit every year, strengthening our people-to-people links. Our Foreign Secretaries last met in London in March, and our Prime Ministers met in May at the European Political Community summit in Tirana. I last held a strategic dialogue with my counterpart in November 2024. This meeting deepened our shared understanding and cooperation on our priority issues.