SARAJEVO TALKS SARAJEVO, July 14 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan on Monday described his official visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina as favourable, saying he hoped that the Sarajevo talks would contribute to a better cooperation
between the two countries.
SARAJEVO, July 14 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan on
Monday described his official visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina as
favourable, saying he hoped that the Sarajevo talks would
contribute to a better cooperation between the two countries. #L#
Racan was leading a government delegation which included Minister
of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Communications Roland Zuvanic,
Minister of Public Works, Reconstruction and Construction Radimir
Cacic, and minister without portfolio Gordana Sobol.
The Croatian delegation held talks with members of Bosnia-
Herzegovina's Presidency and Council of Ministers, the speakers of
both chambers of parliament, Cardinal Vinko Puljic and the
president of the Croatian cultural association "Napredak", Franjo
Topic.
"I'm leaving Sarajevo with a lot of optimism," Racan told reporters
at the end of the two-day visit, saying that the Croatian delegates
were given a very good reception by all the officials they met.
Racan said that the most important subject discussed was the
construction of a road along the Vc corridor that would run from
Budapest through Bosnia-Herzegovina to the southern Croatian
seaport of Ploce. He added that Croatia remained firmly interested
in the construction of the highway.
Racan made it clear that Croatia would not try to influence how
Bosnia-Herzegovina decides to build its part of the corridor. He
expressed hope that the decision would be based on a public tender
in which Croatian companies might also participate.
The Croatian prime minister declined to comment on the statement
made earlier in the day by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers,
Adnan Terzic, that the project will be entrusted to the privately-
owned Bosnian-Malaysian company "Bosmal" if in the next three
months it manages to raise 300 million euros necessary for
feasibility studies.
Racan reiterated that a public tender was the basic requirement for
the necessary funds to be secured under favourable conditions from
international financial institutions.
He went on to say that Croatia was open to cooperation with Bosnia-
Herzegovina in other infrastructural areas as well. In this context
he mentioned modernisation of the railway network. He said that the
process of modernisation of railways was under way in Croatia and
that more than US$ two billion would be earmarked for the project.
Today's talks are also expected to result in a more liberal border
crossing regime.
Racan announced that as of 1 January next year all citizens of
Bosnia-Herzegovina would be able to enter Croatia using
standardised personal ID cards. In that way Croatia will give
citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina the same treatment as it has to
Italians, Slovenes and Hungarians.
(hina) vm sb