ANKARA, May 11 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Hido Biscevic met Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Deputy Foreign Minister Baki Ilkin and the Director of the Department for the
European Union, Mehmet Sungar, during a working visit to Ankara on Tuesday.
ANKARA, May 11 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Hido
Biscevic met Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul, Deputy Foreign Minister Baki Ilkin and the Director of
the Department for the European Union, Mehmet Sungar, during a working
visit to Ankara on Tuesday.#L#
The two sides discussed bilateral cooperation and cooperation with the
EU and NATO, expressing support for the efforts aimed at promoting the
cooperation.
Biscevic's hosts welcomed the positive opinion of the European
Commission on Croatia's EU membership application.
Several bilateral meetings were arranged, and both sides expressed a
desire for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit Zagreb
at the end of this year or the beginning of the next. Talks between
the prime ministers of the two countries could provide significant
impetus to promoting bilateral relations and could contribute to the
development of the entire Southeast Europe.
The two countries reaffirmed their readiness to contribute to
consolidating the peace and stability on their road to the EU and
resolving the remaining outstanding issues in Southeast Europe.
Opinions were exchanged about the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Serbia-Montenegro and the region in general.
Biscevic and his hosts paid particular attention to a NATO summit that
is due to take place in Istanbul in June. Turkey as the host country
pledged full support to Croatia's efforts to draw closer to full
membership of NATO after implementing the Membership Action Plan.
Turkey agreed to the proposal that the exhibition "Anatolian
Civilisation" be staged in Zagreb in 2005.
(Hina) vm