ZAGREB, September 20, 2023 - Visiting Croatia on September 18-19, Marina Wes, the new World Bank Director for the European Union, held high-level meetings with key stakeholders to discuss the country's priorities, latest macro-fiscal developments, and the World Bank's support.
"Croatia has seen strong economic and fiscal performance in recent years, thanks to sound policy guidance in the face of challenging global developments. The government is making good progress on the national reform agenda, which has huge potential to create a better foundation for long-term sustainable growth," said Marina Wes, World Bank Director for EU Countries. "We at the World Bank look forward to a strong continued partnership with Croatia as it works toward becoming more inclusive, green, and even more resilient for the benefit of all its citizens."
Ms. Wes met with Minister of Finance, Marko Primorac, Minister of Justice and Public Administration, Ivan Malenica, and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Davor Filipović. Ms. Wes was accompanied by Jehan Arulpragasam, World Bank Country Manager for Croatia, and members of his team. They discussed the Government of Croatia's ambitious reform agenda, which the World Bank supports, including digital transformation and the green transition of the economy, as well as, improvements to justice service delivery, social protection and education, the business environment and public administration.
During her visit, Ms. Wes also visited the Land Registry Office of the Zagreb Municipal Civil Court, which was recently reconstructed as part of a program for the modernization of the Croatian land administration and management system with the aim of improving its efficiency, transparency, and cost effectiveness. This work was financed by the Integrated Land Administration System Implementation Project supported by the World Bank.
"With the modernization of the land registry system, transactions are taking less time, and citizens are able to access many services online," said Ms. Wes. "We are pleased that the system is also helping government agencies to share information on key issues, including private sector development, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk mitigation," stated Ms. Wes.
About the World Bank in Croatia:
This year World Bank celebrates 30 years of partnership with the Republic of Croatia. Since its first loan in 1994 for emergency reconstruction of war-damaged infrastructure, the organization has supported over 100 projects worth US$6.5 billion and provided knowledge and technical assistance to help strengthen institutions and support policymaking through more than 330 reports and studies.
The World Bank program currently provides knowledge, technical assistance and financing in the areas of transport, digital transformation and the green transition of the economy, justice service delivery, education, business environment, land administration, science and technology, post-earthquake reconstruction of key health and education facilities, deinstitutionalization, pension system sustainability, and public administration.
