Croatia and Turkey formally opened accession talks with the European Union on October 3, 2005.
The two countries have no outstanding issues between them and they have good and friendly relations which are constantly improving on the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, the two officials said according to a press release from the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.
Turkey's entry into the European Union is a historic project that may be a guarantee of security and stability of the whole of Europe, which Turkey will enrich with its cultural diversity, Babacan said.
Croatia and Turkey share the goal of becoming full members of the European Union, Babacan said.
Also discussed were political and economic reforms the two countries were implementing with a view to joining the EU.
Turkey and Croatia are cooperating in this process through exchanges of experience and consultations among institutions, Grabar-Kitarovic said, expressing hope that this practice would continue.
Grabar-Kitarovic said Croatia expected that the negotiating process would continue based on the individual merits of candidate countries.
On the subject of Croatia's NATO membership bid, Grabar-Kitarovic said that Zagreb was expecting a clear signal for NATO membership at the forthcoming alliance summit in Riga, Latvia.
Babacan said his country fully supported Croatia's aspirations to join NATO.