Croatian President Ivo Josipovic on Saturday travels to the United States for an official and working visit to last several days.
During the visit, he will meet US Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and representatives of Congress, with whom he will discuss the bilateral and multilateral cooperation of the two countries, Croatia's accession to the European Union and the stabilisation of Southeast Europe.
The purpose of the visit is to maintain the partnership dialogue with the USA at the highest level and exchange information on what is the most important for Croatia, an unnamed senior Croatian official said on Tuesday.
Josipovic will start the visit on Sunday by meeting representatives of the Croat community in Chicago, which has around 50,000 members.
On Monday he will hold a lecture at the Council on Global Affairs in Chicago, one of the most influential forums for international relations in the USA. The lecture will focus on reconciliation and criminal responsibility for war crimes.
Josipovic is also expected to meet professors and students of Chicago's DePaul University and lay a wreath at the local Holocaust museum.
On Tuesday, Josipovic will hold talks with US Vice President Biden at the White House, after which he will meet with Secretary of State Clinton at the State Department. Late in the afternoon he will meet leaders of the Congressional Croatian Caucus on Capitol Hill, who since the establishment of the caucus in 2005 have been advocating Croatia's interests in Congress, notably its NATO membership candidacy.
According to sources close to the Croatian delegation, Josipovic and his hosts will discuss, among other things, the recent verdict of the Hague war crimes tribunal against Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac, which has embittered Croats in the country as well as the Croat emigrant communities.
Josipovic will end the official part of his visit to Washington by laying wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery and at the Holocaust Museum.
He is also expected to give several interviews to the US media and hold informal meetings with politicians, scientists and other public figures.
Josipovic's visit to the USA represents a new stage in building the partnership between the two countries. Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor visited the USA in May 2010, her predecessor Ivo Sanader paid a visit in October 2006, and former US President George W. Bush visited Croatia in April 2008.
