"Croatia welcomes the engagement of the Czech Republic and its Prime Minister (Jiri Paraoubek) in Southeast Europe... Croatia is already the Czech Republic's partner in that diplomatic initiative," Sanader said, adding that he and his Czech counterpart yesterday discussed the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania.
Croatia is interested in the permanent political stabilisation of those countries, Sanader said, adding that it was good for an increasing number of central and western European countries to become involved in those matters as they were important for the entire Europe.
On the second day of his visit to Prague, PM Sanader met the leader of the strongest opposition party, the Civic Democratic Party, Mirek Topolanek. The leader of the Czech opposition told Croatian reporters that the start of Croatia's EU entry talks was important not only for Croatia but for the entire Balkans, as well as for Europe.
Topolanek said the situation in the Balkans could stabilise if Slovenia and Croatia became stable European countries, adding that Croatia could be the leader in the area and a partner in efforts to stabilise the region.
Sanader today held a speech on Croatia's path to the EU before prominent Czech politicians and representatives of Prague's public and cultural life. In his speech, which was organised by the Conrad Adenauer Foundation, Sanader said Croatia was fully ready for the process of negotiation to be concluded with its admission to the EU.
Members of the Croatian delegation, Deputy Prime Minister Damir Polancec and Croatian Tourist Board president Niko Bulic, today met with representatives of the leading Czech tour-operators whom they acquainted with the current economic situation in Croatia. Croatia is visited every year by 500,000-800,000 Czech tourists and both countries are interested in increasing that number. The two sides also discussed the possibility of investment by Czech entrepreneurs in tourist facilities in Croatia.
Croatian Culture Minister Bozo Biskupic met his Czech counterpart Vitezslav Jandak to discuss the promotion of cultural cooperation. The two ministers agreed on several joint projects, including the presentation of a seven-language dictionary of Czech Benedictine Peter Lodecker, to take place in November, and an exhibition on Art Nouveau in Croatia, to be held in spring next year.