INDONESIA: MESIC HOLDS ECONOMIC TALKS

ZAGREB/JAKARTA, Feb 14 (Hina) - The talks Croatian President Stjepan Mesic held in Indonesia on Thursday, the second day of his visit there, focused on the bolstering of bilateral economic ties. Mesic visited the Indonesian parliament, where he met the chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly, Amien Rais. According to sources in the Croatian delegation, Rais acquainted Mesic with the Assembly's work, while Mesic briefed interlocutors in the parliament about the work of the Croatian parliament and the development of parliamentarism in Croatia. Both sides expressed interest in intensifying economic cooperation. Mesic spoke about the situation in Europe's south- east, Croatia's ambition to join the European Union and NATO, and the global dimension of Croatia's foreign policy, of which this visit to Southeast Asia is a confirmation. Mesic, who is heading a strong business delegation, also visited the general secretariat of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Secretary-General Rudolfo Severino described Mesic's visit as historic given that he is the first head of state of a non-ASEAN country to visit the secretariat. "Mesic compared ASEAN's function with that of the European Union and asserted that in many aspects it could serve as an example for... Southeast Europe, alluding to the fact that at one time some ASEAN members which now cooperate successfully were in conflicts," a source in the Croatian delegation told Hina. President Mesic also attended an economic forum at which Croatian and Indonesian businessmen reached agreements which could soon turn into concrete ventures. Mesic also visited Indonesia's largest cosmetic factory, "Pulo Gadung", which is oriented on the ASEAN market but considers expanding to Europe. (hina) ha