Speaking of Croatia's expectations of NATO's summit due to take place in Riga, Latvia, this November, Grabar-Kitarovic said she was hoping for "a strong and clear message regarding Croatia's future membership in NATO and for a clear time frame."
The meeting, which also involved Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic, focused on the progress made during the four-year cycle of the Membership Action Plan, NATO's programme designed for the adjustment of aspirant countries to alliance standards.
Roncevic said that NATO commended Croatia for adopting a defence strategy last year and for drawing up a long-term plan for the development of the armed forces for the 2006-2015 period.
As one of the greatest challenges facing Croatia, the foreign minister cited the need to raise public support for NATO membership.
"Our surveys show that a third of Croatian citizens are in favour of NATO membership, a third are against, while a third don't have a clear position. This is due to lack of information, but also to a perception that there is no direct threat to Croatia's security," Grabar-Kitarovic said, adding that the government's communication strategy would be upgraded.
"Advantages of NATO membership should be seen in the context of security of foreign investment, job creation and a larger market rather than in the context of the number of military bases and troops," she said.
Grabar-Kitarovic said that the NATO ambassadors were interested in concrete information on judicial reform and refugee returns.
"We have the support of the North Atlantic Council for the reform processes in Croatia," the foreign minister said.
This was the last meeting between Croatian and NATO officials before the Riga summit, which will not be dealing with alliance enlargement. Croatia expects a signal about the possibility of receiving an invitation to join NATO at the next summit in 2008.
Hina learned that in their speeches NATO ambassadors pointed out that Croatia should be given a strong and clear signal and that it had made great progress in preparations for membership, particularly in comparison to two other aspirants, Macedonia and Albania.