Croatian President Speaks at Bilkent

SEAN PATRICK SMYTH  (POLS/I)


President of Croatia Ivo Josipovic delivered a talk at Bilkent last week, on Monday, March 14, during a diplomatic visit to Turkey. President Josipovic began by providing assembled guests a historical overview of Croatia, explaining the process of democratization, the ending of the war, and how the country intends to progress in the future.

During the course of his talk, delivered at the ICC conference hall, President Josipovic stressed common historical and cultural ties between Croatia and Turkey. He continued by explaining the similarities of both countries' contemporary foreign policies - particularly in view of both countries' aspiration to join the European Union and both countries' stated goals of friendship with all neighboring states, stating: "The values of our foreign policy are more or less similar with Turkey."

President Josipovic  furthermore praised Turkey's role in facilitating reconciliation between the former Yugoslav states from which Croatia emerged, describing those efforts as having the aim of "making them [each country] satisfied"

The talk was followed by a question and answer session. Students and faculty members asked several questions generally focusing on the difficulties of recovering from war and the problems of EU accession negotiations.

Before departing, the president was presented with a selection of Bilkent Symphony Orchestra recordings from the President Ali Doğramacı, and books by Provost Prof. Metin Heper, and faculty members Asst. Prof. Edward P. Kohn and Asst. Prof. Sean McMeekin.