Photos: Latest meeting between Kosor and Pahor

Slovenian Prime Minister responded to the doubts from the public. He said that neither he nor Kosor compromised their national interests.

The presidents of Slovenian and Croatian chambers of commerce, ministers of economy, and the prime ministers of both countries met at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce. In their opening agreement both Nadan Vidosevic, and his Slovenian counterpart, Zdenko Pavcek stressed that Slovenia was one of the largest investor in Croatia and that spending between the two countries continues to grow.

Vidosevic noted that Slovenia should be open to Croatia, and that as far as the economy is concerned, Croatia’s door is open for Slovenia.

- Croatia and Slovenia kept the best relations of all countries of the former Yugoslavia, and all the controversies that still need to be resolved, are up to politicians - said Nadan Vidosevic. Industries with best partnerships are: pharmaceutical, food, automotive, tourism and furniture industry.

Borut Pahor opened the talks by stating that the Croatian and Slovenian public is, predominantly, misguided.

'We have built a bridge and we are moving in the right direction'

- Most Slovenians seem to think that Kosor made a better deal, while the Croats seem to think that I tricked Kosor into something. However, we have really built a bridge and we are moving in the right direction - Slovenian Prime Minister said, adding that since we are neighbors, it would be natural to expect us to be good trading partners as well.

Regarding the border issue Pahor said that a controversy that has been going on for the past 18 years cannot be solved over night.

The interests of Slovenian and Croatian side are viewed through individual interests, and not mutual, as they should be.

- It is considered that Slovenia is only interested in the solution of the border issue and that Croatia is only interested with EU accession. However, it is in the interest of both countries that Croatia joins the EU and that border dispute is resolved - said Pahor.

‘Unblocking will bring a victory for all of our neighbors’

Croatian Prime Minister followed this up by saying that we will need determination, love and perseverance in order to achieve what is in mutual interest.

- We are building the road to the future, but there are always skeptics and we would like to announce even closer economic cooperation - Kosor stressed, and noted that she wants to improve the friendly ties between Slovenia and Croatia.

Prime Minister said that citizens should expect new solutions and not ‘raising of new walls’.

- Unblocking of the Croatian accession negotiations does not only mean a victory for Croatia, Slovenia and the EU, but for all the countries of Southeast Europe, that is, all of our neighbors. This is a message of hope - said Kosor.

‘We will talk about the arbitration and we will find a solution’

Kosor stressed that she and Borut Pahor held their promises, how Croatia and Slovenia have a lot of opportunities for cooperation and how we turned a new page in relations between the two countries.

- We will go to arbitration and we will talk about our relations - announced the prime minister.

Ultimately, the Croatian and Slovenian Prime Minister Prime Minister concluded that there were several attempts to address fundamental questions that have remained open since 1991, but were not successful which decreased the level of public trust.

See photos of the meeting here.