ZAGREB, June 10 (Hina) - An exhibition, entitled "Croatian Diplomacy and the Croatian Path to Euro-Atlantic Integration", was opened on Tuesday at the Croatian Foreign Ministry on the occasion of Croatian Diplomacy Day.
ZAGREB, June 10 (Hina) - An exhibition, entitled "Croatian
Diplomacy and the Croatian Path to Euro-Atlantic Integration", was
opened on Tuesday at the Croatian Foreign Ministry on the occasion
of Croatian Diplomacy Day. #L#
The official opening ceremony was attended by President Stjepan
Mesic, Prime Minister Ivica Racan, former Austrian Foreign
Minister Alois Mock, as well as a large number of representatives of
the diplomatic corps in Croatia.
Addressing the gathered, Foreign Minister Tonino Picula said that
Croatia had diplomatic and consular offices in 59 countries and
seven permanent missions with international organisations.
This year's celebration of Croatian Diplomacy Day is special
because 2003 has been truly a European year for Croatia, Picula
said, stressing that Croatia's strategic objectives were well
known - accession to the EU and NATO, in which process the country's
diplomacy would play an important role.
Alois Mock, a long-standing friend of Croatia, expressed
satisfaction with the fact that Zagreb was on the right track to
becoming a full EU member.
Be consistent in your negotiations with the EU and may that
consistency become characteristic of Croatia, Mock said.
Relations between Croatia and the EU are a dominant topic in
Croatia's internal affairs, Ivica Racan said, pointing out that
developments on the foreign policy front were tightly related to
internal affairs.
Croatia today is recognised on the international scene as a subject
and not an object, President Mesic said, reminding that Croatia's
strategic goals were clear and unchanged - entry into the EU and
NATO.
The exhibition, which is open until June 24, presents the
chronology of events on the foreign affairs front from 2000 to 2003,
photos, documents, international bilateral and multilateral
agreements relating to the EU, NATO and the Zagreb Summit,
relations with neighbours and regional initiatives, as well as the
current activities of the Diplomatic Academy.
On display are also brochures and posters related to the Foreign
Ministry's activities in the field of culture.
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