MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Croatia president to visit his “Chilean-Croatian” peer and Magallanes Region

Zoran Milanovic is meeting Gabriel Boric, Chilean president, grandson of Croatian immigrants established in Punta Arenas

Croatian president Zoran Milanovic is expected next week in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile, where he has been declared “illustrious visitor” given his position and the fact he is visiting Magallanes Region where a large Croatian community has been living for over a century.

 President Milanovic is scheduled to visit the different places closely linked to Croatian migration, plus participation in a major dinner reception at the Casino Dreams Hotel.

The distinguished visitor arrived this week to Santiago, on a special invitation from Chilean president Gabriel Boric to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Previously Croatia was part of now dissolved Yugoslavia.

Milanovic will be visiting the presidential palace in Santiago, La Moneda, to hold conversations with president Boric and later share lunch. According to the visiting delegation, the presidential summit involves a Chilean-Croatian leader, grandson of Croatian immigrants and Milanovic.

The Croatian leader is also scheduled to give a lecture at the University of Chile on geopolitics and its impact on the different economies.

From Santiago the Croatian president will be travelling to Valparaiso to meet with the head of the Lower House, Vlado Mirosevic. Later he travels to Antofagasta, which also has a numerous Croatian community.

Milanovic is the fourth Croatian elected president to visit Chile in the last thirty years. Chile was the first Latin American country to recognize sovereign independent Croatia and the fourth in the world.