The head of the Zagreb Chamber of the Economy, Zlatan Froelich, said that the economies of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia-Montenegro and Slovenia were oriented towards one another and that the four countries should continue efforts to further strengthen their economic ties.
Froelich said that Croatia was the largest foreign investor in Bosnia-Herzegovina and that it was also present in the markets of Serbia-Montenegro and Slovenia. His guests agreed that the four chambers should develop closer relations.
The secretary-general of Belgrade's Chamber of Commerce, Nermina Ljubovic, said she hoped the agreement on cooperation, signed by the four chambers in October 2003, would help in connecting the regional economies.
A project, European schools for employees of chambers of commerce in the Western Balkans, was presented at the meeting. The aim of project, which is a part of the Stability Pact, is to create a network of chambers of commerce that will defend their common interests in Brussels. The project will be coordinated by Ljubljana and is to be completed by January 2006.
Slovene representatives said that, after joining the European Union in May this year, their country had set itself a very ambitious goal of entering among the first 10 EU countries.