After the presentation, that was held behind closed doors, President Mesic told the press he and the other top officials had harmonised views on plans for the modernisation of the Croatian army.
The army must be modern and must reach NATO standards, it must be equipped with weaponry of the NATO alliance and therefore we have had to agree on how to supply the army with NATO weapons, Mesic added.
He said that part of the debt which the former Soviet Union owed to Croatia would be settled through the delivery of up-to-date helicopters.
We shall definitely go ahead with plans for professionalising the army, but we shall also offer an opportunity to volunteers to enroll if they wish, the president added.
PM Sanader said that the above-mentioned task force would be set up later in the day.
According to him, the task force that will decide on the offers of manufacturers of armoured combat vehicles will take into account the compatibility of vehicles with NATO standards and will also focus on the offset programme, which means that the national industry will be included in the job.
The Croatian economy, too, must benefit from the supply from abroad, Sanader explained.
Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic said that the media had so far reported about informal offers from Finland and Austria and that those offers would now be considered in detail.
The task force will include President Mesic's advisor Vlatko Cvrtila, the army chief-of-staff, General Josip Lucic and the ministers of the economy and finance, Roncevic explained.
Minister Roncevic expressed satisfaction with the delivery of 10 new multipurpose Russian helicopters, worth 65 million dollars.