The atmosphere was solemn, the kind that reminds you how strong and shared the economic ties between Italy and Croatia have now become. In the elegant setting of the Sheraton in Zagreb, the Italian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce (CCIC/THGK) this evening celebrated the 2025 edition of the ITA CRO Business Award, the event which for eight years has been paying tribute to the best Italian investors and entrepreneurs for their contribution to the development of the Croatian economy and to the strengthening of relations between the two shores of the Adriatic.
For eleven years now, the CCIC has been playing an essential bridging role between the two countries: Italy is in fact one of Croatia’s most important trading partners, while Italian companies rank among the largest investors in the country, with thousands of jobs created in strategic sectors. From infrastructure to industry, through to cultural projects, trans-Adriatic cooperation continues to be a virtuous example of partnership. And the fact that relations between the two countries are intense and constantly evolving is also borne out by the official bilateral visit paid yesterday by the Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to Rome. During his stay, he was received at the Quirinale Palace by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, at Palazzo Chigi by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and at Montecitorio by the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo Fontana. The delegation led by Plenković also included Furio Radin, Vice-President of the Sabor and Member of Parliament for the Italian National Community (CNI) in the Croatian Parliament, whose presence is significant: it testifies to the bridging role that the Italian minority in Croatia and the Croatian minority in Italy continue to play in the dialogue between the two shores of the Adriatic Sea. A dialogue further fostered by the widespread presence of the Italian language in Croatia (to the point that it is, alongside Croatian, an official language in the Region of Istria, editor’s note), so much so that last Tuesday the Minister of Culture and Media, Nina Obuljen Koržinek, took part in the first Conference on Italophony held in Rome at the initiative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
During the CCIC gala evening, greetings to the many guests were delivered by the President of the Chamber, Aldo Di Biagio, the Deputy Head of Mission of the Italian Embassy in Zagreb, Counselor Maria Cristina Costa (who conveyed greetings from Ambassador Paolo Trichilo, engaged in Dubrovnik/Ragusa alongside the Italian Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè), and Neven Kos, Head of the Directorate for International Affairs within the Ministry of Economy and Government envoy to the gala. The guests – among them the Consul General of Italy in Rijeka/Fiume, Iva Palmieri, the Directors of the ICE Office and of the Italian Cultural Institute in Zagreb, Marilena Procaccio and Gian Luca Borghese respectively, Marin Corva, President of the Executive Board of the Italian Union (Unione Italiana), the Head of the “Entrepreneurship and Communication” Department within the Executive Board of the Italian Union, Ana Čuić Tanković, the Director of the Edit publishing house in Rijeka/Fiume, Christiana Babić, and Elvira Cafaro from the administrative services of the Italian Union – were able to enjoy an exquisite dinner accompanied by selected wines, and there was no shortage of networking moments filled with enthusiasm and a shared vision for the future.
With this celebration, the Italian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce wished to send out a clear message: the friendship between Italy and Croatia is not only rooted in history, but is also a concrete driver of development, capable of looking to the future together with confidence.
The winners of the ITA CRO Awards 2025 were OXY Technical Gases (founded in Croatia by the Italian companies SIAD and SOL), Eurospin and the Museum of Senses. Awards also went to Oleificio Baioco, represented at the evening by compatriot Geissa Ðurić, and to Adriatic Consulting, the company of Rijeka-born entrepreneur Iva Lesjak.
