"Data are finally showing that the trend has reversed: an increasing number of Croats and their descendants are returning to their roots, which gives us at HMI-- whose mission is to connect the homeland with the Croatian diaspora -- great pleasure," said the institution’s director, Zdeslav Milas, at the gathering.
State Secretary at the Central State Office for Croats Abroad, Zvonko Milas, paid tribute to all those who, in the 1990s, came from the countries where they had been living to defend the homeland during Croatia's war of independence.
Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlić Radman recalled Croatia’s first president, Franjo Tuđman's statement that all Croats living outside the homeland were welcome in Croatia.
The speakers particularly emphasised the importance of creating conditions for sustainable return, employment, entrepreneurship and the active inclusion of returnees in social life.
The government was the patron of the event, which was organised by HMI and the association Hrvatska uzdanica, with the support of the Central State Office for Croats Abroad, the statement said.