VUKELIC MEETS SERBIAN AND BOSNIAN MINISTERS ON MARGINS OF TOKYO CONFERENCE

ZAGREB, April 5 (Hina) - A Croatian delegation led by Economy Minister Branko Vukelic met delegations of Serbia-Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Tokyo on Monday on the margins of a ministerial conference aimed at strengthening peace and economic development in the Western Balkans, the Economy Ministry said in a statement.#L# The meeting with Serbian Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic and Minister for Foreign Economic Relations Branko Lukovac focused on the application of the free trade agreement between Serbia-Montenegro and Croatia. The agreement had been ratified by the Serbian Assembly and the Croatian Parliament was expected to do the same. The two parties arranged a meeting of the sub-commission for the implementation of the agreement for June. The Serbian officials underlined that recent elections in their country would not affect relations with Croatia. Both sides agreed that it was necessary to step up cooperation on the issue of transport and to increase trade. The talks with Bosnian Foreign Trade Minister Dragan Doko and Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic centred on the application of the free trade agreement, the need for joint consultations on the implementation of the Corridor Vc project, and cooperation on other issues, including energy-related problems and the ongoing privatisation process in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the statement said. (Hina) vm