According to a press release issued by his ministry on Wednesday, Primorac said at the meeting that Croatia attached great importance to the implementation of the Millennium goals and that it was ready for the challenges of development cooperation that were awaiting it as a future EU member.
The meeting at St Gerlach Castle near Maastricht is discussing three main topics -- strengthening the coherence of EU development policies, reproduction rights and the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the interrelatedness of peace, security and development.
Croatia has been invited by the Dutch EU Presidency to attend for the first time as an EU membership candidate, which will enable it to join in an unofficial debate on future European development policy.