BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 5135 HINA Zagreb, 12 November 2003

HR-BULLETIN-Politika BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 5135 HINA Zagreb, 12 November 2003 ECONOMIC GROWTH RATE HAS TO BE AT LEAST FIVE PCT ANNUALLY - PMOPATIJA, Nov 12 (Hina) - Prime Minister Ivica Racan said on Wednesday his cabinet's principal achievement was a stable, open, and a more competitive Croatia. This government has adopted a long-term economic development strategy under which GDP per capita in the next dozen years should be twice that in 2001, unemployment has been halved while macroeconomic stability has been preserved, Racan said at the 11th conference of the Croatian Economists Society. The three-day event, which began in the northern Adriatic resort of Opatija today, has pooled hundreds of officials, economy experts, and businessmen due to address Croatia's economic policy in 2004. In line with the strategy, the government's tasks include a minimum five percent annual GDP growth rate, a 2.3 percent annual inflation rate, and reducing the number of the jobless to about