Day of International Recognition of Croatia (15/01)

January 15 is celebrated in the Republic as the Day of International Recognition of Croatia.

On this day in 1992, the Republic of Croatia, then another Yugoslav republic, was internationally recognized by 12 countries of the European Union. On the same day, they were joined by Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Switzerland.

The first country to recognize Croatia was Iceland, which made a corresponding decision on December 19, 1991. On January 13, Croatia was recognized by the Vatican, and on January 14, — San Marino.

Back in the fall of 1991, the Republic of Croatia was also recognized by countries that themselves were not yet recognized: Slovenia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia.

Until the end of January 1992, Croatia was recognized by seven more states: Finland, Romania, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia. The first Asian country to recognize Croatia, not counting Turkey, was Iran, and the African — Egypt. On May 22, 1992, Croatia was admitted to the UN, and by this time it was also recognized by Russia, Japan, the USA, Israel and China.

Since then, Croatia has about one hundred embassies and consulates, six permanent missions in different international organizations and maintains diplomatic relations with more than 180 countries around the world.

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