PARLIAMENT DEPUTY SPEAKERS MEET INCOMING YU AMBASSADOR

ZAGREB, Feb 20 (Hina) - Croatian deputy parliament speakers Ivica Kostovic and Baltazar Jalsovec received incoming Yugoslav Ambassador Milan Simurdic on Wednesday. The parliament said in a statement Kostovic informed Simurdic about the work of the Croatian parliament, pointing to the main political differences between the current authorities and the previous ones, which were headed by the Croatian Democratic Union, with regard to foreign policy. The Yugoslav ambassador said Croatia and Yugoslavia shared the same orientation with regard to their foreign policies because Yugoslavia, too, had chosen a path towards the European Union. The two sides also discussed the issue of missing persons, and the Yugoslav ambassador said the authorities in Belgrade paid special attention to the problem. Speaking about economic cooperation, Kostovic said the two countries could intensify cooperation in trade and science, which would open the door to other forms of cooperation. Jalsovec and Simurdic agreed on the need to cooperate and exchange experience in agriculture, especially with regard to the competitiveness of the countries' agriculture in relation to European Union countries. (hina) sb rml