In his first visit to Los Angeles, Prime Minister Plenković toured AltaSea and saw cutting-edge ocean solutions to climate change.

On Wednesday, AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, the world’s largest ocean research and development destination for the Blue Economy, hosted Republic of Croatia Prime Minister Andrej Plenković for a tour of the 35-acre campus dedicated to climate and sustainability solutions from the ocean. This is the first visit by a head of state to AltaSea in the organization’s history.

The tour of AltaSea was part of Prime Minister Plenković’s first visit to Los Angeles since becoming Prime Minister. His trip included time at LA City Hall, the Port of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the University of Southern California, UCLA, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

During his tour of AltaSea, Prime Minister Plenković saw demonstrations from Captura, an ocean carbon capture technology company; regenerative aquaculture companies USC Seaweed Lab and Kelp Ark; and Seatopia, a regenerative seafood company that sources seafood and aquaculture that is both mercury-safe and microplastics-free.

He was accompanied on the tour by key members of his team, including H.E. Mr. Pier Šimunović, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia in the USA, and Hon. Renee Pea, Consul General of the Republic of Croatia in Los Angeles.

“The visit by Prime Minister Plenković to AltaSea’s campus was very encouraging to us, especially with his interest on how the blue economy that we are growing here could translate in Croatia and at their ports,” said Robin Aube, AltaSea’s Director of Advancement, who led the tour. “It is great to see that the work we’re doing at AltaSea is making an impact well beyond the United States.”

Croatia, located in Central and Southeast Europe and across the Adriatic Sea from Italy, has a rapidly growing shipping sector with six major international ports.

"There is a lot of room for economic cooperation between California and Croatia, especially in digital transformations and renewable energy sources," said Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in an interview with Hrvatska Radiotelevizija, Croatia’s public broadcasting company.

San Pedro has over 30,000 residents of Croatian descent and is home to the Croatian American Hall and the Dalmatian American Club, which was created in 1926 as a home for the Croatian population of San Pedro.

Editor’s Note: You can find pictures and captions from Prime Minister Plenković’s visit here.

About AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles

AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, located on 35 acres at North America’s leading seaport by both container volume and cargo value, is dedicated to accelerating scientific collaboration, advancing an emerging blue economy through business innovation and job creation, and inspiring the next generation, all for a more sustainable, just, and equitable world.

For more information on AltaSea, please visit: https://altasea.org.

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