An event to promote the cultural and economic cooperation between Romania and the Republic of Croatia took place on Thursday, in Split, in the famous Villa Dalmatia, under the name "The International Day of the Romanian Blouse in Split".

In his speech, the Ambassador of Romania to the Republic of Croatia, Constantin-Mihail Grigorie, presented the significance of the International Day of the Ia (Romanian Blouse) celebrated in Romania and by the Romanian communities around the world on 24 June, highlighting the importance of the blouse, its symbolic value for the garb and the ancestral traditions of the Romanian people.

On this occasion, he referred to the dynamic partnership on all levels between Romania and the Republic of Croatia, marked by an intense political dialogue, with mutual visits to the highest level, governmental and parliamentary, but also by an intensification of bilateral economic relations. He welcomed the presence of Romanian and Croatian economic operators at this event, which offers opportunities for new business partnerships, the embassy says in a press release.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Romania, Marija Kapitanovic, sent a video message, as did Valentin Ilie Fagarasian, member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament.

Other officials who delivered speeches, such as Tonci Glavina, Secretary of State with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Croatian Government, Joze Tomas, President of the Chamber of Economy of Split Dalmatia County, and Hildegard Brandl, President of the Bucharest Entrepreneurs' Organization, highlighted the positive course of relations between Romania and Croatia and the contribution of the event to promoting the dialogue between the economic operators of the two countries.

Attending the event, the Managing Director of the AGERPRES National News Agency, Claudia Nicolae, spoke about the significance of the Ia Day, recalling that, since 2015, AGERPRES has dedicated editorial projects that had as main purpose the promotion of the Traditional Romanian Blouse.

"Projects such as STORIES WITH IE, Ia Day, ethnographic tradition, ambassador ROMANIA, IA - YESTERDAY AND TODAY, brought to the readers' attention everything that is patrimony, but also heritage to be carried on at the same time. We have gathered emotional stories about IA from all over Romania, but also stories about how the whole world knew, capitalized and wore the beautiful Romanian garb," managing director Claudia Nicolae said.

"We all live in the century of globalization, also marked by the acute desire to preserve our identity. Romanians from all over the world see in this element of the folk costume a symbol of the Romanian folk identity and creativity. The Romanian Blouse will never go out of style. Our traditional motives are everlasting sources of ideas," the AGERPRES managing director highlighted.

During the event attended by many members of the Romanian community in Croatia, a parade of the Romanian Blouse was organized, the participants admiring several models of the most representative item of clothing of the Romanian traditional costume, ''La Blouse Roumaine'' to which the French painter Henri Matisse dedicated a famous painting with the same name, inspiring many fashion designers from Romania and abroad.

The law establishing June 24 as the Day of the Romanian Blouse was promulgated on Tuesday by President Klaus Iohannis. According to this law, cultural, social and artistic activities can be organized on Iei Day and materials aimed at promoting and protecting the blouse can be disseminated through mass media.

The event held under the name "The International Day of the Romanian Blouse" in Split was organized by Lifestyle Check In company in collaboration with the Romanian Embassy in Zagreb, the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism in the Romanian Government, the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, the Honorary Consulate of Romania in Split, the Chamber of Economy of Split Dalmatia County and the Association of Romanians in the Republic of Croatia, with the support of the Department for Romanians Everywhere, according to a press release by the Embassy of Romania in Zagreb.

On the same day, at the Palace of the Academy of Sciences and Arts in Split, the Istro-Romanians photo-exhibition was opened, organized by the Embassy of Romania in the Republic of Croatia, the Honorary Consulate of Romania in Split and the Association of Romanians in the Republic of Croatia. The Romanian Ambassador in Zagreb Constantin-Mihail Grigore hailed the excellent cooperation between Romania and Croatia in protecting the Istro-Romanian dialect and the Istro-Romanian community, a common cultural asset of Romania and Croatia, stressing that the opening of the Istro-Romanians exhibition coincides with the organization on the same day in Split of the manifestation dedicated to the Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse, part of the Romanian folk costume from ancient times, also worn by the ancestors of the Istro-Romanian community, paid homage to by the exhibition.

The exhibition, organized in Croatia at the initiative of the Romanian Embassy in Zagreb, was also mounted at the Klovicevi Dvori Galleries in Zagreb, on December 1, 2021, and on April 12, 2022 at the Principij Galleries in Rijeka.

The photographs were taken by the artists photographers Constantin Demeter, Gheorghe Petrila and Ovidiu Gabor, following a documentation visit made with the support of the Department for Romanians Everywhere, in the localities of Istria where the members of the Istro-Romanian linguistic community live.AGERPRES(RO - editor: Mariana Ionescu; EN - editor: Maria Voican)