Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (R) meets with visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Zagreb, capital of Croatia, on July 24, 2018. (Xinhua/Patrik Macek)

ZAGREB, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin vowed to strengthen bilateral ties here on Tuesday.

Grabar-Kitarovic, after official talks with Rivlin, said she expects that the contract on the Croatian purchase of 12 Israeli F-16 Barak fighter jets will be signed in the fall.

"Procurement of Israeli airplanes is the start of more intensive military cooperation between the two countries, and we expect a significant increase in trade, which now amounts to only 50 million U.S. dollars a year," said Grabar-Kitarovic.

The Croatian president stressed that Israel has a friendly and trusted partner in Croatia.

"Today we have to face the threat of hatred and terror and we have to work together to make sure our people are safe. We will defend our nations and values, and we will do it together", said the Israeli president.

Reuven Rivlin was also received by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Tuesday when they discussed the improvement of economic cooperation, above all in agriculture.

Presidents Rivlin and Grabar-Kitarovic will on Wednesday visit the site of Jasenovac concentration camp, where tens of thousands of Jews and Serbs were killed during the Second World War.