Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

both enjoy friendly relations, the importance of which centers on the history of Croatian migration to Argentina. There is approximately a community of 250,000 Argentines of Croatian descent.La Inmigración Croata en la Argentina (in Spanish)
/ref> Both nations are members of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

History

In 1864, Argentina and the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(which Croatia was part of at the time) established diplomatic relations.Una calle argentina en Viena (in Spanish)
/ref> In 1918 after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolved and Croatia soon became part of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, approximately 35,000 Croatians immigrated to Argentina. In June 1991, Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia. During the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yug ...

, the Argentine government of President

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. He ...

smuggled arms to Croatia despite the United Nations embargo imposed on Croatia (and all territories of Yugoslavia). Argentine weapons for Croatia were sent in seven shipments between 1991 and 1995. Approximately 400 Argentines (primarily of Croatian descent) fought for Croatia in the country's war for independence. Argentina also contributed soldiers to the

United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia The United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia, commonly abbreviated UNCRO, was a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in Croatia. It was established under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter and approved by the UN S ...

.La Politica Exterior Argentina 1994/1997 (in Spanish)
/ref> In January 1993, Argentine President Carlos Menem paid a visit to Croatia to visit the Argentine troops stationed in the country. After its independence, Argentina recognized and established diplomatic relations with Croatia on 13 April 1992, becoming the first American nation to recognize Croatia.Bilateral Agreements between Croatia and Argentina (in Croatian)
/ref> Soon after the establishment of diplomatic relations, Croatia opened a resident embassy in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

.Argentina-Croacia, una relación que viene de lejos (in Spanish)
/ref> In 1994, Croatian President

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (; 14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999), also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first president of Croatia and served as p ...

paid a visit to Argentina, becoming the first Croatian head-of-state to visit the South American nation.Presidente croata visita a su par argentino (in Spanish)
/ref> In May 2003, Argentine President Néstor Kirchner Ostoić (of Croatian descent) was elected

President of Argentina The president of Argentina ( es, Presidente de Argentina), officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation ( es, Presidente de la Nación Argentina), is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under the national cons ...

. In April 2010, the second meeting of the Croatia-Argentina interparliamentary friendship group was held in the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sa ...

in Zagreb and attended by Argentine Secretary of Foreign Relations Victorio Taccetti. In October 2017, Croatian Deputy Foreign Minister Zdravka Bušić paid a visit to Argentina to attend the 2nd Political Consultations Meeting between both nations. In March 2018, Croatian President

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović (; born 29 April 1968) is a Croatian politician and diplomat who served as President of Croatia from 2015 to 2020. She was the first woman to be elected to the office since the first multi-party elections in 1990 and ...

paid a visit to Argentina and met with President

Mauricio Macri Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previo ...

. While in Argentina President Grabar-Kitarović also traveled to

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most p ...

and

San Miguel de Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán (; usually called simply Tucumán) is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Argentina, ...

to meet with members of the Croatian-Argentine community.

High-level visits

High-level visits from Argentina to Croatia * President

(1993) * Secretary of Foreign Relations Victorio Taccetti (2010) High-level visits from Croatia to Argentina * President

(1994) * President

(2018) * Deputy Foreign Minister Zdravka Bušić (2017, 2018)

Bilateral agreements

Both nations have signed several bilateral agreements such as an Agreement on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments (1994); Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation (1994); Visa Waiver Agreement (1994); Agreement of Cooperation in the Field of Animal Health (2000); Agreement in Educational Cooperation (2007); Agreement in Economic Cooperation (2014); Agreement of Cooperation in the Fields of Science and Technology (2014); Memorandum of Understanding in the field of diplomatic training between the diplomatic academies of both nations (2018); and an Agreement in Cultural Cooperation (2018).

Resident diplomatic missions

* Argentina is accredited to Croatia from its embassy in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

. * Croatia has an embassy in

.Embassy of Croatia in Buenos Aires
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Argentina-Croatia relations