Quick Read
- Armenia’s President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenković discussed expanding bilateral cooperation at the Davos World Economic Forum.
- Key sectors identified include green energy, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and culture, with an emphasis on deeper sectoral ties.
- Participants stressed leveraging EU-wide frameworks and new regional partnership opportunities to advance both countries’ agendas.
- The upcoming European Political Community summit in Armenia was highlighted as a pivotal platform for regional dialogue and trust-building.
The Davos World Economic Forum once again becomes a stage where smaller yet strategically placed states can project long-term, multi-layered diplomacy. This year, Armenia’s leadership seized the opportunity to pursue a more comprehensive, action-oriented engagement with Croatia, a fellow European Union member that has rich experience in balancing regional security concerns with economic reform. President Vahagn Khachaturyan’s discussions with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković unfolded against a backdrop of shifting European geopolitics and a broader push to deepen ties within EU-led frameworks, even as both nations underscore the importance of diversified partnerships beyond traditional regional blocs.
At the heart of the conversations was a shared recognition that bilateral cooperation between Armenia and Croatia can be more than ceremonial; it can translate into concrete projects and policy alignment across several sectors. The Armenian side stressed that building a robust partnership with Croatia would contribute to Armenia’s ongoing evolution toward greater energy resilience, a more dynamic pharmaceutical sector, improved agricultural productivity, and a richer cultural exchange that can fortify people-to-people links between the two countries. For Croatia, the dialogue presented an opportunity to extend its practical foreign policy toolkit—gleaning from a neighbor-to-neighbor model while applying its EU experience to help Armenia navigate the complexities of European integration and regional diplomacy.
The widening focus on green energy reflects a shared understanding of the urgency of climate transition and energy diversification. Armenia’s top energy priorities include diversifying away from import-reliant pathways, investing in renewable generation, storage, and grid modernization, and exploring cross-border energy trade with Caucasus and European partners. Croatia’s expertise in national energy policy, renewables deployment, and energy efficiency provides a blueprint that could be adapted to Armenia’s particular geography and market structure. While the specifics of project finance and implementation timelines remain to be worked out, participants acknowledged that near-term pilots in solar, wind, or hydropower, accompanied by supportive policy and regulatory reforms, could unlock tangible benefits within a few years.
In pharmaceuticals, the dialogue highlighted the potential for joint ventures, technology transfer, and supply chain diversification. Armenia, with its growing pharmaceutical manufacturing base, stands to gain from Croatian know-how in regulatory compliance, quality control, and export-oriented production. For Croatia, collaboration with Armenia broadens the market reach for its pharmaceutical products and fosters knowledge-sharing in GMP (good manufacturing practice) standards and clinical research. Industry observers note that such cooperation could also support Armenia’s ambitions to become a regional hub for health-related manufacturing, research, and service delivery—an objective aligned with European partners’ desire to anchor resilient supply chains in the South Caucasus region.
Agriculture was identified as another domain with high potential for pragmatic cooperation. Armenia’s agricultural sector has long faced challenges related to modernization, market access, and climate stability. Croatia’s agricultural sector, rooted in a mix of traditional practices and modern agritech, offers a model for agricultural value-chain development, agro-processing, and export-oriented farming. The two nations discussed joint training programs, knowledge exchanges, and pilot projects that could enable Armenian farmers to adopt improved seeds, irrigation techniques, sustainable pest management, and digital farming tools. If implemented, such collaboration could raise yields, reduce post-harvest losses, and expand Armenia’s agricultural exports to European and international markets.
Cultural exchanges emerged as a symbol of the broader, people-centered approach policymakers are taking toward diplomacy. The Armenian delegation emphasized the role of culture in soft-power diplomacy, tourism, and mutual understanding, noting that Croatia’s experience with cultural diplomacy could illuminate ways to promote Armenian arts, cinema, and heritage internationally. The exchange programs could also foster educational partnerships, scholarships, and joint cultural festivals that build long-term affinity and mutual recognition, complementing the more technically oriented economic initiatives.
Beyond bilateral topics, both leaders underscored the importance of engaging within the European Union’s broader framework. The European Political Community (EPC) has become a focal point for regional dialogue across Europe and its periphery, offering a platform for policy alignment, crisis management coordination, and the sharing of best practices in governance and security. Armenia’s involvement in EPC-related discussions signals a willingness to be actively involved in European security architecture, despite the ongoing sensitivity around enlargement and neighborhood policy. The Armenian leadership highlighted the EPC as a practical forum to tackle common challenges—energy security, border management, and climate resilience—while simultaneously pursuing closer ties with the EU in other formats.
In the Davos context, the discussions also touched on Armenia’s and Croatia’s paths within broader EU enlargement dynamics and the evolving geopolitical environment. Both sides acknowledged that while membership timelines remain contested, the EU’s instruments—ranging from enhanced partnership frameworks to regional collaboration initiatives—can be leveraged to advance tangible results in the near term. The dialogue stressed that cooperation should be anchored in credible, deliverable projects rather than aspirational statements. Politically, this means creating a pipeline of concrete projects—pilot renewables schemes, phased pharmaceutical supply agreements, modernized agricultural practices, and cultural exchange calendars—that can be scaled up as political and financial conditions permit.
From a regional perspective, the Armenia-Croatia talks embody a broader trend of small and mid-sized players exploiting international forums to diversify partnerships. In a period of strategic recalibration within Europe, such diplomacy can help cushion the effects of external pressures and sanctions while expanding economic opportunities. For Armenia, this means not only strengthening ties with a fellow European democracy but also widening its network of partners beyond its immediate neighborhood. For Croatia, the discussions offer a chance to demonstrate EU leadership in building inclusive, pragmatic partnerships that reinforce global supply chains and regional stability. The Davos platform, with its cross-cutting focus on economics, technology, and governance, provides a fertile environment for shaping this shared agenda into concrete, observable outcomes over the next 12–24 months.
The conversations at Davos were thus framed not as a one-off bilateral exchange but as a step toward a more structured, multi-sectoral cooperation framework. The approach mirrors the broader shift in European diplomacy—from grand, symbolic declarations to incremental, implementable actions that forge resilient ties between states that share geographic proximity to Europe and a common interest in a stable, predictable regional order. Both Armenia and Croatia appear intent on turning the momentum created at Davos into tangible steps on the ground, with a particular emphasis on energy resilience, health security, food security, and cultural diplomacy—areas that can yield quick wins while laying the groundwork for longer-term collaboration in the European ecosystem.
As 2026 moves forward, observers will watch for how these discussions translate into formal agreements, policy reforms, and budgetary commitments. The real test will be whether the parties can convert dialogue into action—through memoranda of understanding, joint ventures, training programs, and cross-border pilot projects. If successful, the Armenia-Croatia partnership could serve as a model for how small and mid-sized states within the European space can leverage high-profile forums to expand practical cooperation, diversify their strategic options, and contribute to regional stability in an era marked by rapid technological change and geopolitical volatility.
Final Analysis: The Armenia-Croatia exchange at Davos signals a pragmatic, results-oriented approach to diplomacy that prioritizes deliverable cooperation over symbolic gestures. By anchoring talks in tangible sectors like green energy, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and culture within European-led frameworks, both countries underscore a broader trend: small states seeking to shape regional security and economic outcomes through practical partnerships. If the European Political Community summit in Armenia yields concrete initiatives, it could accelerate integration with EU structures while reinforcing regional stability across the South Caucasus and the Western Balkans. The real challenge remains translating commitments into measurable projects, but the conversation itself marks a meaningful step toward diversified, resilient diplomacy in 2026.