Croatia considers opening consulate in Samarkand

During a meeting with Samarkand Mayor Fazliddin Umarov, members of the Croatian Parliament discussed prospects for establishing cooperation between the cities of Samarkand and Dubrovnik, UzA reported.

Refik Šabanović, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Croatia to Uzbekistan, emphasized that the visit is aimed at elevating bilateral relations to a new level.

“This visit is significant as it seeks to bring cooperation between Uzbekistan and Croatia to a new stage,” Šabanović said. “During meetings with representatives of the Uzbek parliament and government, discussions were held on opening a Croatian embassy in Tashkent and a Croatian consulate in Samarkand. We also intend to further strengthen our ties by establishing sister-city relations between Samarkand and Dubrovnik.”

According to the ambassador, Dubrovnik, like Samarkand, is a tourism-oriented city. Although its population is just around 40,000, it welcomes nearly four million tourists annually and has accumulated substantial experience in tourism development.

“I believe cooperation in this area would be beneficial for both cities,” he added.

Members of the Croatian Parliament also exchanged views on expanding cooperation in transport, pharmaceuticals, communications and information technology, as well as on implementing joint projects in these sectors.

Mayor Umarov noted that Samarkand aims to increase the number of tourists visiting the city to 10 million by 2030.

“In this regard, cooperation with Dubrovnik could be highly valuable,” he said. “If we study the experience of our Croatian partners in modernizing infrastructure, raising service quality to international standards and promoting our unique historical heritage globally, such collaboration would be mutually beneficial.”

As part of the visit, the delegation toured historical and cultural landmarks and major attractions in Samarkand.