By Devinder Kumar*

NEW DELHI, India | 20 June 2025 (WorldView) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Croatia on 18 June on the final leg of a three-nation tour, marking the first-ever visit by an Indian prime minister to the country. The visit is seen as a move to deepen strategic, trade and cultural ties with the European Union (EU) member state and to broaden India’s engagement with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Modi’s stop in Zagreb followed visits to Cyprus and Canada, where he attended the G7 summit as a special invitee. His visit to Croatia came at a time when New Delhi is recalibrating its outreach to Europe amid growing geopolitical uncertainty and intensifying great power competition.

“Modi’s trip to Cyprus and Croatia, both members of the European Union (EU), has come after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, and the EU within a month. This highlights the growing importance of India-EU ties, especially after the war in Ukraine, the election of Donald Trump to the White House, and the EU trying to de-risk from China. The unprecedented visit of Ursula von der Leyen to India in February this year was also part of this EU approach of diversification,” writes Aman K Pandey, a Research Associate with the Indian Council of World Affairs.

Bilateral relations

India was one of the major non-European countries to recognise the independence of Croatia in May 1992 and diplomatic relations were established in July the same year. Croatia opened its diplomatic mission in New Delhi in February 1995 followed by the establishment of the Indian mission in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, in April 1996. India upgraded the relationship to the ambassadorial level in January 1998.

The relationship has remained cordial since the days of Yugoslavia, when Croatia accounted for more than two-thirds of bilateral trade. Tito, an important pillar of the Non-Aligned Movement, was of mixed Croat and Slovenia parentage and maintained very friendly relations with India and its then leadership.

The friendly linkages continued throughout the 1990s even when Croatia remained occupied with the ethnic conflicts that followed the disintegration of Yugoslavia and focussed on gaining the membership of both EU and NATO.

A significant gateway to Europe

Strategically located on the Adriatic Sea coastline, acting as a significant gateway to Europe, Croatia offers India a crucial opportunity in engaging with the continent. The location of Croatian ports such as Rijeka, Split and Ploče puts the country at the intersection of key European transport corridors, such as the planned Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).

Its geographic location makes Croatia a potential hub in the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which aims to promote Indian trade with Europe through the Mediterranean. Extension of IMEC to the Adriatic will connect India with the Central and Eastern European nations that are also part of the Three Sea Initiative (3SI), a north-south axis of trade and energy cooperation among 12 countries (including Croatia).

Surge in bilateral trade

As per data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, bilateral trade with Croatia has gone up in recent years. From $199.45 million in 2017, it increased to $337.68 million in 2023. India primarily exports medicines, chemicals, machinery, apparels, and other consumer items. Croatia, on the other hand, has found Indian markets welcoming of its chemical products, precision instruments, timber products, rubber articles and animal and vegetable fats and oils among others.

Officials accompanying Modi said there is room to scale up cooperation in green energy, education, shipbuilding, and tourism.

“Croatia is an important economic gateway to the EU for India’s small and medium enterprises. With the right agreements, it could serve as a hub for Indian products reaching Eastern Europe,” said a senior Indian trade official in Zagreb.

Cultural and Historical Links

During his meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Modi was presented with a reprint of the first printed Sanskrit grammar, written in Latin by Croatian scholar Ivan Filip Vezdin in 1790. The book, based on Vezdin’s studies with Brahmin scholars in Kerala, is seen as a symbol of early India-Croatia cultural exchanges.

“This is a reflection of the long-standing civilizational linkages between our countries,” Modi said in a statement after the meeting.

India and Croatia also share historic ties dating back to the Yugoslav era. Croatia was part of former Yugoslavia, whose leader, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, was a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Both were founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

Strategic Recalibration

Modi’s visit is part of a broader Indian diplomatic push into Central and Eastern Europe, a region where China has increased its influence through infrastructure investments. India is now seeking to position itself as a democratic and reliable alternative partner, particularly in the context of EU de-risking strategies from China and renewed interest in the Indo-Pacific.

“This is an area where India enjoys significant goodwill. Several CEE countries, including Croatia, support India’s bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council,” said Aman K Pandey, a research associate with the Indian Council of World Affairs.

The trip also follows a series of high-level engagements between India and the EU. In February, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited New Delhi in what officials described as a “reset” in India-EU relations. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has visited multiple EU capitals in recent weeks.

“India’s engagement with Europe is no longer limited to Berlin, Paris or London. We are seeing a multi-vector approach that includes smaller, strategically located nations like Croatia,” said Srivastava.

Next Steps

India’s External Affairs Ministry stated that Prime Minister Modi’s visit has provided a renewed impetus to the bilateral partnership, emphasizing the complementarities between the two economies, particularly in tourism, trade, and technology.

The two Prime Ministers acknowledged the signing of several agreements: (i) a Memorandum of Understanding on Agricultural Cooperation; (ii) a Programme of Cooperation in Science and Technology; (iii) a Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP); and (iv) a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Hindi Chair at the University of Zagreb.

Modi’s visit is expected to open doors for increased collaboration in education, digital cooperation, maritime logistics, and multilateral coordination. Croatian universities continue to offer Indian cultural and language studies, and Indian tourism to Croatia has steadily increased post-pandemic.

“Going forward, we will see India work more closely with Croatia not only bilaterally, but also within regional frameworks that shape Europe’s future,” a senior EU diplomat posted in Delhi told Reuters.

*This article is based on the Explainer in the Indian Express by Aman K Pandey is a Research Associate with the Indian Council of World Affairs. [WorldView]

Image: Indian Prime Minister Modi with his Croatian counterpart, Andrej Plenkovic, in Zaghreb on 18 June. Credit: X/@narendramodi