New Year reception at President's office for Diplomatic Corps

New Year reception hosted by President Mr. Ivo Josipović and First Lady Mrs. Tatjana Josipović, was attended by 64 members of the Diplomatic corps,  led by H. E. Mario  Cassari and, also, nine representatives of international organizations accredited to  Croatia.  Amongst Croatian guests were the Prime Minister Zoran Milanović , Minister of Foreign Affairs Vesna Pusić and other representatives of the Government, Parliament, Armed Forces, coalition partners and representatives of national minorities. Here is the speech that gave H.E. Apostolic Nuncio Mario Roberto Cassari:

"It is my honor and joy, on behalf of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Zagreb, and on behalf of the Consular Corps and the international organizations with headquarters in Zagreb, to thank you and Mrs. Josipović for your invitation to this traditional reception and express our best wishes for the recent Christmas holidays and the New Year.

Permit us also, Mr. President, to extend our greetings to the high political officials present here, His Excellency Mr. Boris Šprem, Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, His Excellency Mr. Zoran Milanović, Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Her Excellency Ms. Vesna Pusić, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Mrs. Kosor, and your advisors in the Office of the President. Through you we also send our greetings to all of those in various fields who assiduously promote the common good, religious leaders of all faiths and confessions, all Croatian citizens and those who are not Croatians but live in this hospitable country.

Mr. President, as the official representatives of our countries, we are privileged to follow the political and social events in Croatia. We do this with particular affection and are honored to have such a privilege.

In the year that has just ended, we have witnessed important events in this country, of which we should like to mention just a few. We celebrated the twentieth anniversary of Croatian independence, to the achievement of which great contributions were made by the many countries that we represent here. We remembered the twentieth anniversary of the tragic events in Vukovar, a city of martyrs. Furthermore, Croatia is in a period after the recent parliamentary elections, in which the majority of the sovereign nation, through a democratic vote, expressed support for a new Government that will lead the country. We once again congratulate those who were elected and pledge that if asked, we will contribute with our sincere cooperation as we did in our relations with the previous Government, to whom we express our due appreciation for the attentiveness shown to us and to the countries that we represent.

We wish to recall the historical event of this past December 9 when Croatia signed an accession treaty with the European Union. May I take the liberty in this context of quoting the words that Pope Benedict XVI spoke at the Zagreb airport on June 4 of last year: "From its earliest days, your Nation has formed part of Europe, and has contributed, in its unique way, to the spiritual and moral values that for centuries have shaped the daily lives and the personal and national identity of Europe's sons and daughters. In the face of the challenges posed by today's culture - marked as it is by social differentiation and instability, and by an individualism that gives rise to a vision of life without obligations and a constant search for "private space" - there is a need for convinced witness and active dynamism aimed at promoting the fundamental moral values that underpin social living and the identity of the old Continent. Twenty years after the declaration of independence and on the eve of Croatia's full integration into the European Union, this country's remote and recent history can stimulate reflection on the part of all the other peoples of the Continent, helping them, individually and collectively, to preserve and to inject new life into that priceless common heritage of human and Christian values..."

We also wish to recall all the efforts that Your Excellency has invested in strengthening the stability and international prestige of Croatia, a country that has long borne witness to its great capabilities and profound democratic maturity.

At the beginning of this New Year, the Diplomatic Corps once again sends its best greetings to you, Mr. President, your esteemed wife, you daughter and through you to all who live in Croatia. We express our best wishes full of cheer, for stability, spiritual and material progress, bearing in mind the goals that this dear country intends to achieve at the domestic and international levels.
May Almighty God bless and protect Croatia! "