"The Croat diaspora in Chile is the most successful Croatian community in the world," Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic said on Thursday after meeting with his Chilean counterpart, Diego Paulsen Kehr.

“A large number of Croats live in Chile. They are successful in politics, business, science, education and many other areas,” Jandrokovic said after the meeting.

“We consider the Croatian diaspora in Chile to be one of the most successful Croatian communities in the world,” he added, describing the Croat minority in Chile as a bridge between the two countries.

According to Chile’s foreign ministry, there are more than 200,000 people of Croat descent living in Chile, which is almost 1.3 percent of the total population, as reported by the Central State Office for Croats Abroad.

Paulsen is a member of the party of President Sebastian Pinera, one of the wealthiest people in Chile.

After the meeting with Jandrokovic, Paulsen Kehr said that his visit, as well as a forthcoming visit by Chile’s defence minister, is aimed at developing economic cooperation. He added that of all the EU countries his country invests in Croatia the most, Croatian state agency Hina reported.

Noting examples of good cooperation, the two officials mentioned the Luksic family from Chile as one of the largest investors in Croatia’s tourism.

They said that the cooperation between the two countries “in the coming period” will particularly focus on multilateral organizations, especially with regard to “sustainability, climate change and green policies, and the fight against autocratic regimes in the world,” Hina said.