This is a regular inspection of Croatia's progress in fulfilling partnership goals and implementing the Annual National Programme, the national coordinator for NATO at the Foreign Ministry, Pjer Simunovic, told Hina.
The central topic of the talks between the NATO delegation and their hosts, to last between 6 and 9 March, is a draft document called the Strategic Defence Overview.
The draft was worked on for more than a year and it is the central document of the Croatian defence reform at the moment, Simunovic said.
Guenther Altenburg, NATO's assistant secretary-general for political affairs and security policy, is expected to arrive in Zagreb as well. On Wednesday, the NATO official will meet President Stjepan Mesic, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, the chair of the Parliament's Committee on Foreign Policy, Gordan Jandrokovic, and the head of the Croatian parliamentary delegation at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Kresimir Cosic.
Altenberg and Croatia's Foreign Minister Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic and Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic will hold a news conference on Wednesday.
A report on the third Croatian MAP Action Plan cycle will be drawn up based on NATO's findings.
The cycle will be completed in May before NATO's North-Atlantic Council with the adoption of a report assessing Croatia's progress and fulfilment of assumed obligations, Simunovic said.
During the third cycle, Croatia is expected to reach such a level of reform based on which NATO will send it an invitation for the start of membership talks, which could happen at NATO's summit in 2006, Simunovic said.
Sources at the Foreign Ministry said that the NATO delegation for the first time included people in charge of talks on remodelling military facilities to serve for other purposes.