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By MICHAEL STAPLES
staples.michael@dailygleaner.com

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Croatia's ambassador to Canada hopes that a city from her country can twin up with New Brunswick's capital.

Vesela Korac met with Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside on Tuesday and floated the idea.

Korac said her government is considering the possibility of matching the Croatian city of Makarska with Fredericton.

"I conveyed the message of that Croatian city to the mayor of Fredericton to come with his delegation and explore the possibilities of further co-operation," Korac said in an interview.

She said there's a lot to learn from Fredericton and Fredericton has a lot to learn Makarska, a tourist city located in the Dalmatia.

Woodside said the city is receptive the idea, describing it as an interesting concept.

Woodside said over the last several years the world has become a smaller place and cities far away are keen on establishing relationships with municipalities such as Fredericton.

"I think we are really part of a global community," Woodside said. "It really is a small world that we live in and there's a lot of this happening. I get invitations all the time. This is one of the more serious ones because of the connection with Senator (Noel) Kinsella. We have a lot in common."

Woodside said the Croatian ambassador is also interested in learning more about various drug initiatives underway in the city and its surrounding areas, such as the Lions Club project Try Hugs Not Drugs and the Portage Program underway at Cassidy Lake.

Korac also spent a portion of Tuesday meeting with provincial officials, discussing topics such as agricultural research in the area of potatoes and professions such as aqua-farming.

"I would like to get to know the province more and find what would be the appropriate province of Croatia that we can establish co-operation with," Korac said.

"We are very much interested in the know-how in high-technology. I have learned from my host here that you are developing very well in that area. We might start co-operation in that and we would be interested to get your know-how and some of your companies to do business in Croatia."

Tuesday's visit to Fredericton was organized by Kinsella's office.

Much interest was expressed by the Croatian ambassador in communities that have a strong record in post-secondary education and in high-technology, and that's where Fredericton comes into play, Kinsella said.

"It's all about improving and growing the relationship between the peoples of Canada and the peoples of Croatia," the speaker of the upper house said.

"Croatia has become a very modern democracy - one of the gems of the former East Bloc sphere of influence. There are so many opportunities for us, as Canadians, to be working with the people of Croatia."

Kinsella said Croatia and Canada aren't competitors but can act in consultation with each other and that's what international relations are all about.