The nature of the economic relations between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Croatia

COMMERCE AND ECONOMY

Since the announcement of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Croatia on 05/12/1992, several agreements were signed in the economic field, the first of which was on the promotion and protection of investments, which entered into force on 12/11/2001, and a memorandum of understanding in the field of Tourism cooperation on 07/02/2010, and an economic cooperation agreement was signed on 22/4/2009 during the visit of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to Croatia. During the same visit, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Qatar Development Bank and the Croatian Reconstruction Bank.

A memorandum of understanding in the field of energy was also signed during the visit of the Qatari Minister of Energy and Industry to Croatia from 4-6 December 2013.

He was accompanied by a delegation that included a number of senior officials of Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Petroleum International, Qatar Gas and Electricity.

As for Qatari investments in the Republic of Croatia, they do not exist, according to the information available to the embassy, despite the efforts of successive Croatian governments to attract foreign investments, including Qatari investments, which the Croatian economy lacks, through economic reforms, the tax system, the judicial sector and others that It may not have lived up to the required level yet.

It should be noted that after the great recession that hit the Croatian economy as a result of the Corona pandemic last year 2020, which caused the economy to decline by 8.5%, as the cost of the pandemic amounted to about 4.5 billion euros, the Croatian economy began to recover this year 2021. The Croatian Central Bank issued encouraging data on 14/07/2021, stating that the growth rate for this year will reach 6.8% compared to the same period last year, while the value of foreign currency reserves amounted to 21.5 billion euros, an increase of 24.4% compared to Last year 2020.

On August 27, 2021, the Government Statistics Office issued its latest report on the performance of the Croatian economy, which stated that the growth rate in the second quarter of this year 2021 reached 16.1% compared to the same period last year. He added that the unemployment rate reached 7.4%, while the inflation rate is estimated at 2%.

Illustrative list of trade exchange between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Croatia in recent years, according to the data of the Croatian National Bank and the State Statistical Office.

In millions of dollars

With regard to the field of economic cooperation and trade exchange between the two countries, according to the data of the Croatian Government Office of Statistics issued on 11 March 2021, there has been a large traditional deficit over the past years in favor of the Republic of Croatia, where the value of Qatari exports in the year 2020 to the Republic of Croatia reached 267,000 euros, while The value of exports, in the same period of 2019, amounted to 2.195 million euros.

The value of import from the Republic of Croatia in the year 2020 is estimated at 40.956 million euros, while the value of import for the same period in 2019, from the Republic of Croatia amounted to 23,771.469 million euros, according to the latest data of the Croatian Government Statistical Office issued on 11/03/2021.

The data of the Governmental Office for Statistics issued on 08/09/2021 included that the value of trade exchange with the State of Qatar in the first six months of this year 2021, amounted to 10,299 million euros (ten million two hundred and ninety-nine thousand euros), while the value of Croatian exports to countries

Qatar out of this amount was 9.368 million euros, while the value of Qatari exports to the Republic of Croatia for the same period amounted to 931 thousand euros, which indicates a deficit in the balance of trade exchange amounting to 8.427 million euros for the same period.

In the first quarter of 2024, the trade balance between the two countries showed a clear favor towards Croatia, despite a decrease in its overall value. The value of imports from Croatia reached €3.715 million (three million seven hundred fifteen thousand euros), while the value of exports to Croatia did not exceed €0.392 million (three hundred ninety-two thousand euros).

There are many opportunities for investment in many Croatian economic sectors, the most important of which are:

- Tourism.

- Shipyards.

- Transformative Industries.

- Food industries.

- Timber industry.

- Metal industry.

- Pharmaceutical industry.

- Oil and gas.

- Energy and its renewable sources.

- The medical section.

- Marinas for yachts