ZAGREB, Jan 30 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula on Thursday paid an official visit to Andorra, where he met with Premier Marc Forne, Foreign Minister Julio Minoves Triquele and Parliament Speaker Francesc
Areny.
ZAGREB, Jan 30 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula on
Thursday paid an official visit to Andorra, where he met with
Premier Marc Forne, Foreign Minister Julio Minoves Triquele and
Parliament Speaker Francesc Areny. #L#
Andorra's officials promised to help Croatia in the removal of
mines and the establishment of a rehabilitation centre for mine
victims, Picula told Hina on the phone. Andorra is also willing to
support the candidacy of Croatian legal expert Ivo Josipovic for
the post of a judge at the International Court for War Crimes, the
minister added.
Picula informed his hosts about Croatia's plans to submit an
application for full membership in the EU next month. Andorra, too,
intended to apply for EU membership, Picula added.
The two sides discussed the improvement of trade, which is almost
non-existent. Croatia's imports from Andorra total slightly less
than 100,000 dollars.
Dunja Konjevod, a representative of the Croatian Chamber of
Commerce accompanying Picula on the visit, discussed the
possibility of Andorra's participation in the Zagreb Fair.
Picula said the two countries' foreign ministries were preparing
agreements on cooperation between their foreign ministries and
considered cooperation in the fields of science and technology.
Andorra's Foreign Minister Julio Minoves Triquele visited Zagreb
last June.
The Principality of Andorra, once an impoverished state in the
Pyrenees, is today a tourist miracle. With a population of some
70,000, it is visited by around 11 million tourists annually. It is
governed by the bishop of the Spanish city of Urgel and the French
president, who have their representatives in the country. In 1993
the country's first written constitution came into force and
Andorra became a parliamentary democracy.
(hina) rml