The Secretary-General met today with H.E. Ms. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, President of the Republic of Croatia. The Secretary-General and Ms. Grabar-Kitarovic welcomed the milestone adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by the General Assembly the day before and they agreed on the importance of upholding the rights of women, children and minorities in this context.

The Secretary-General and the President discussed recent developments in the Western Balkans, including the increased movement of refugees and migrants towards Europe and related challenges. The Secretary-General stressed the importance of the continued strengthening of regional cooperation in the Western Balkans and underlined the United Nations’ continued commitment to reconciliation and reform efforts there. The need to address the root causes of migration, including poverty, inequality, lack of education and extremism, was noted, as was the need to develop a long-term policy on migration at the global level.

  
The Secretary-General welcomed the role of Croatia in peacebuilding and peacekeeping, and President Grabar-Kitarovic confirmed Croatia’s intention to remain actively engaged in these areas, as well as in human rights.