The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who arrived in Zagreb on Friday afternoon for a three-day visit to Croatia, said in his speech that Croatians had fought hard to realise their dream of independence and now Croatia was sending its troops out into the world. In the speech he delivered in the Old Town Council building, Ban praised Croatia for its international engagement, donations to those in need and for its assistance to other nations in transition.
Ban is paying his official visit to Croatia in the year when the country is marking the 20th anniversary of its admission to the World Organisation. He began his tour of the countries in the area of the former Socialist Yugoslavia with his visit to Slovenia on Friday morning.
In his speech in Zagreb, Ban Ki-moon spoke about the early 1990s when Croatia had been stricken by the war and when thousands of Croatians had depended on outside assistance and when five different UN mission had been deployed in Croatia.
"I understand that many people in Croatia did not start out with strong faith in the United Nations. But Croatia’s deepening engagement over the years is powerful testimony to the country’s belief in the value of the United Nations," he said adding that the good connections had been reinforced with the UNTAES operation when the UN Transitional Authority peacefully reintegrated Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium into Croatia.
He recalled that currently, Croatian troops, police and experts were deployed in nine of UN missions, from Cyprus to Timor-Leste, from Western Sahara to Haiti, from Lebanon to Liberia and Syria and thanked Croatia for ideas and resources it was also providing.
Ban praised three Croatians for their promotion of the values of the World Organisation.
In this context he mentioned the highest-ranking Croatian official in the UN, Ivan Simonovic, who is UN Assistant Secretary-General for human rights, Croatian President Ivo Josipovic who is active in the Secretary-General’s Network of Men Leaders, engaged in a campaign to end violence against women, and famous Croatian basketball player Toni Kukoc, who participated in a "Basketball without Borders" programme for teens from the Balkans sponsored by the United Nations Drug Control Programme.
The UN Secretary-General singled out three areas in which Croatia can give its contribution to the UN activities: supporting countries in transition, standing up for human rights and advancing sustainable development.
There is a growing global movement for democracy. Croatia’s experiences can serve the world. And by contributing its experience internationally, this country will become stronger in its own right, he stressed.
He noted that Croatia has great potential in energy efficiency and in renewable resources and that it is rich in natural beauty and cultural traditions that can be preserved for the world to see.
"The doors of the United Nations are open to you," he said.
The UN Secretary General's congratulations on the 20th anniversary of Croatia's UN membership in the Croatian language were greeted with great applause from Croatian officials and foreign diplomats attending his lecture in Zagreb.
He also elicited smiles and applause from those present at this event when he compared his surname with the Croatian word "Ban", which is a historical title of rulers in Croatia in the past.
There was Ban Ivan, Ban Nikola – but no Ban Ki-moon! I guess it is just as well I am Secretary-General Ban, and not Ban Ban, the Secretary-General said in a jocular tone.
After that he visited the Andrija Stampar School of Public Health. Later in the evening Ban departed for the archipelago of Brijuni where he would meet Croatia's top officials.
