The meeting of foreign and defence ministers of Croatia, Albania, Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was the continuation of the process which began during Croatia's presidency of the US-Adriatic Charter, so that countries preparing for NATO membership could strengthen cooperation and exchange experiences, the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration said in a statement on Tuesday.
The meeting focused on NATO enlargement in light of the 2008 summit, strengthening of partnership, regional cooperation and security issues as well as European security issues.
Grabar-Kitarovic said Croatia saw alliance with NATO as crucial for providing security and stability as well as for reinforcing democracy and progress in Southeast Europe, but also in the wider Euro-Atlantic context.
She said Croatia was ready to help new Partnership for Peace countries, thus continuing to strengthen regional cooperation.
Grabar-Kitarovic welcomed NATO's more active role in the ISAF mission to Afghanistan and said contributing to the mission was a long term priority of the Croatian government. She informed the ministers at the meeting that the Croatian parliament had decided to raise the number of Croatian troops in Afghanistan to 200 in 2007 and to 300 in 2008.
She mentioned the possibility of Croatia taking over one Provincial Reconstruction Team as part of the ISAF mission, and described the other ways Croatia is helping in the establishment and development of social institutions in Afghanistan.
Grabar-Kitarovic relayed an invitation to the prime ministers of the Tallinn meeting countries to attend "Croatia Summit 2007: Europe's New South", which will gather the prime ministers of EU, NATO and Southeast European countries in Dubrovnik on July 6-7.
Defence ministers discussed the tasks and challenges of armed forces in light of defence transformation, the Croatian Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Roncevic said Croatia was determined and ready to continue with reforms and that, like NATO countries, it saw terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and international organised crime as the main threats to its national security.
Croatia is therefore building modern, deployable armed forces that will be capable of acting together with allies and partners, he said.
Croatia welcomes NATO's decision to accept Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro into the Partnership for Peace programme as a contribution to the stabilisation and security of the region, and is ready to cooperate through talks, exchange of experience, and direct and practical support to the countries in the region, the Defence Ministry statement said.