In December 2005 General Ante Gotovina, indicted by the ICTY for war crimes and a fugitive since 2002, was arrested by Spanish authorities in the Canary Islands, partially as a result of intelligence information provided by the Croatian Government. Since the arrest and transfer of Gotovina to The Hague in late 2005, Croatia continues to cooperate fully with the ICTY.

Croatia was admitted on May 25, 2000 into the Partnership for Peace program--which was designed by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states in 1994 to strengthen Euro-Atlantic security--and, in May 2002, was welcomed into NATOís Membership Action Program, a key step toward NATO membership. On May 2, 2003, the United States joined Croatia, Albania, and Macedonia to sign the Adriatic Charter , in which the three NATO aspirants pledged their commitment to NATO values and their cooperative efforts to further their collective NATO aspirations. The United States continues to work with the aspirants, collectively as well as bilaterally, as they continue with their necessary reforms for eventual consideration for NATO membership.

Croatia has been a member of the United Nations since 1992, and contributes troops to 10 UN operations including those in Haitii, Cyprus, Georgia, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Eritrea, and Kashmir. Since 2003, Croatia has sent a military police unit to support the International Stabilization Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Croatia is a member of the World Trade Organization and the Central European Free Trade Organization.

While Croatia has made progress on dealing with a number of post-conflict issues, the status of refugees displaced during the 1991-95 war and resolution of border disputes with Slovenia remain key issues influencing Croatia's relations with its neighbors and the international community.