BRATISLAVA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic Saturday highlighted here at the annual GLOBSEC, a security forum, the importance of close cooperation among Central European countries in connecting three seas, namely the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Sea, with energy, digitization and transport infrastructure.
"It's about connecting three seas - the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Sea - in order to give a boost to this region. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, efforts were launched to unite Europe and establish relations between the East and West, but connections between the North and South, including Central Europe, have been somewhat neglected," said Grabar-Kitarovic.
The European Union (EU) member states situated between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas adopted a joint statement in August 2016 in Dubrovnik, Croatia to launch the Three Seas Initiative, which is an informal platform and open to partnerships on specific projects.
The initiative is aimed at introducing better road and airline connections. In the energy sector, an LNG terminal should be built on the island of Krk in Croatia, linking it to LNG terminals in Poland and Lithuania. Energy connectors between Hungary and Ukraine should also be constructed with the goal of ensuring energy independence, higher efficiency and lower energy prices in individual countries of the region.
"I've also discussed it with Slovak President Andrej Kiska. I noted that that a journey by train from Zagreb to Vienna now takes as long as during the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. This is why modernization is needed," said the Croatian president.
She added that the next top-level meeting of the initiative is due to take place on July 6-7 in Poland.
