SEECP SUMMIT STARTS IN BELGRADE

BELGRADE, April 9 (Hina) - Heads of state and government of south- east European countries and international representatives gathered for the sixth summit of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Belgrade on Wednesday. #L# The summit, which started with bilateral meetings this morning, is attended by Albanian President Alfred Moisiu, Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic (Croatia has observer status in the SEECP), a member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency, Dragan Covic, Greek and Turkish Premiers Costas Simitis and Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Romanian Parliament President Nicolae Vacariu. The summit was opened by Serbia and Montenegro's President Svetozar Marovic on behalf of the country hosting the event. The summit focuses on ways to improve regional cooperation and accelerate integration into European associations. Participants in the conference should today adopt a joint declaration, the text of which was agreed on last night. Officials of Serbia and Montenegro will submit a report on their year-long presidency of the SEECP. Bosnia-Herzegovina is the next country to chair this regional body. Immediately upon his arrival in Belgrade this morning, President Stjepan Mesic held talks with his Albanian counterpart Alfred Moisiu. Mesic will speak at the summit and hold a number of bilateral meetings. This is Mesic's first visit to Belgrade since September 1991. He was appointed chairman of the collective presidency of the then Yugoslavia in July 1991 and formally resigned in December the same year. The SEECP was established by countries in the region in 1996 with the aim of promoting cooperation and stability and security in the region. Its members are Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and Turkey. (hina) rml