New Delhi [India], January 22 (ANI): The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday strongly condemned the incident of trespassing and vandalism at the Indian Embassy in Croatia's Zagreb, and urged the Croatian authorities to take action against those responsible.

'We condemn the incident of trespassing and vandalism at our Embassy in Zagreb, Croatia by anti-India elements,' the MEA said in a statement, adding that the matter has been raised strongly with the Croatian authorities.

The statement was shared by MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on X.

'Under the Vienna Convention, diplomatic premises are inviolable and must be protected. Accordingly, we have taken up the matter strongly with Croatian authorities, both in New Delhi and in Zagreb and asked them to hold the perpetrators accountable for their reprehensible and illegal actions,' the statement read.

The MEA further said that such actions 'also speak of the character and motives of those behind them', adding that law enforcement authorities everywhere must take note of these.

The incident comes in the backdrop of strengthening ties between India and Croatia, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi's June 2025 visit to the Balkan nation last year, during which he held talks with the top leadership of the country, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to travel to Croatia. On his arrival in Zagreb, he was received by his Croatian counterpart, Andrej Plenkovic.

During the visit, Modi also met Plenkovic, with the two leaders deciding to give a 'three-time' pace to bilateral relations. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri were also present during the talks between the two leaders.

As part of the visit, India and Croatia also signed four memoranda of cooperation in the fields of agriculture, culture and science. In addition, another memorandum was signed between the ICCR and the University of Zagreb for cooperation related to the study of Indology. (ANI)