Sutaj Estok Held Talks with Bozinovic on Cooperation between Rescue Services (2)

Crikvenica, 4 August (TASR) - Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) was received by his Croatian counterpart Davor Bozinovic in the Croatian city of Crikvenica on Monday, where they discussed cooperation between the two countries' police and fire services, TASR learnt from Slovak Interior Ministry's press release and HINA news agency. Sutaj Estok visited Slovak police officers in Crikvenica, who have been serving there continuously since 2008 as part of the Safe Tourist Destination project. Its main objective is to provide help and assistance to Slovak tourists during their transit through Croatia and to prevent and resolve incidents that Slovak tourists may encounter. The Slovak Minister added that 26 other countries have their police officer in Croatia during this summer season. „The presence of foreign police officers in Croatia has proven to be excellent practice. For foreign visitors, it's reassuring to have their own police officers nearby, not to deal with serious offences, but to provide a sense of safety and to assist with communication,“ Bozinovic stated. Under a mutual agreement, the Croatian side provides and finances accommodation and meals for Slovak police officers. Slovak police officers always perform their duties in police uniforms along with Croatian police officers. Bozinovic stated that over 12,500 Slovak nationals were currently visiting the city of Crikvenica and expressed great satisfaction that Slovakia regularly sends its police officers to Croatia. The Croatian minister also praised the long-standing cooperation between the Croatian and Slovak fire services. During the talks in Crikvenica, a bilateral meeting was also held at the level of presidents of Fire and Rescue Corps, where several future activities were agreed upon, mainly concerning joint exercises and trainings. According to the press release from the Slovak ministry, Slovakia is ready to provide assistance to Croatia in the event of forest fires by deploying its vehicles, as well as its helicopters. lin/mcs