The Finance Ministry, in cooperation with the Croatian National Bank and agent banks, led bilateral negotiations with member-states of the Paris Club between 1996 and 1998, when agreements were signed with all countries but Italy.
Negotiations with Italy were launched in 1996 and completed in November 2005, Minister Suker said on Friday, adding that today's signing of the agreement entirely regulated Croatia's obligations towards the Paris Club.
Under the agreement Croatia, assumed its share of the debt totalling EUR42 million, of which EU32 million are debts toward loans and business deals of legal entities from Croatia. Those legal entities will settle the debt.
The remaining EUR10 million is the so called unallocated debt, for which it is impossible to determine the end beneficiary from the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the settlement of which was assumed by successor countries, according to percentage defined by the International Monetary Fund.
The overall Croatian debt toward the Paris Club (14 countries) totals EUR735 million, of which 47 percent or EUR346 million has been paid off, while EUR71 million is to be settled next year, Suker said.
On 31 January 2006 Croatia will have to settle EUR32.8 million of its debt toward Italy, while EUR9.1 million will be rolled over for settlement by 2009.
Alongside the agreement, also signed today was an accompanying letter regulating four financial conventions signed after 1982. Under the document, Italy no longer has claims towards Croatia based on three conventions. Zagrebacka Banka will continue to pay the debt from the forth convention, according to original maturity dates.
The accompanying letter was signed by representatives of the Zagreb-based bank and Italy's foreign trade insurance service SACE S.p.A.