ZAGREB, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani criticized the U.S. tariffs at the Croatian-Italian Economic Forum in Zagreb on Tuesday.
"The U.S. tariffs benefit no one," Tajani said, adding that because of American tariffs, the European Union (EU) countries must find new friendly countries and regions, and the EU's internal market has already produced "excellent results."
"We are counting on relations with Zagreb -- you are a friendly country to us," Tajani said.
Meanwhile, Tajani said that Croatia and Italy share many initiatives in foreign policy, including the accession of all Western Balkan countries into the EU, and Italy welcomes more Croatian companies to participate in the Italian economy.
For his part, Croatian Minisiter of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlic Radman said Croatia and Italy are bound by strong economic and political ties, and last year, Italy was Croatia's second most important foreign trade partner and its fifth-largest investor.
Croatian Minister of Economy Ante Susnjar hailed the bilateral cooperation and said Croatia and Italy are considering a strategic project of laying an undersea electrical cable connecting the coasts of the two countries. ■
