BELGRADE, March 5 (Hina) - The Croatian government's delegation, Yugoslav and Serbian high officials, and businessmen from some of Yugoslavia's most important companies began talks at the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday. The
Yugoslav Commerce Chamber chair, Slobodan Korac, greeted the Croatian delegation and said he hoped Yugoslavia would sign agreements on free trade with all countries in the region by the end of the year. A Croatian deputy premier, Slavko Linic, said more intense economic cooperation between the two countries should show that the new millennium is an opportunity for this region. It is in the interest of both countries to sign a free trade agreement as soon as possible, make joint investments, and cooperate in privatisation and investment, Linic said. Croatia is interested in both reaching new markets and opening the Croatian market to its neighbours, he said, particular
BELGRADE, March 5 (Hina) - The Croatian government's delegation,
Yugoslav and Serbian high officials, and businessmen from some of
Yugoslavia's most important companies began talks at the Yugoslav
Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.
The Yugoslav Commerce Chamber chair, Slobodan Korac, greeted the
Croatian delegation and said he hoped Yugoslavia would sign
agreements on free trade with all countries in the region by the end
of the year.
A Croatian deputy premier, Slavko Linic, said more intense economic
cooperation between the two countries should show that the new
millennium is an opportunity for this region. It is in the interest
of both countries to sign a free trade agreement as soon as
possible, make joint investments, and cooperate in privatisation
and investment, Linic said.
Croatia is interested in both reaching new markets and opening the
Croatian market to its neighbours, he said, particularly because of
the expansion of Croatia's tourism.
There are many open issues, he said. The current visa regime makes
communication more difficult, he said, but it will be eased and most
likely cancelled by the end of the year. The unresolved status of
one country's property in the other one should also be solved as
soon as possible, Linic said, as it should not be an obstacle to
cooperation between the two countries.
Croatian Economy Minister Goranko Fizulic said trade between
Croatia and Yugoslavia increased in recent years, and grew by 38
percent last year. He said Yugoslavia was one of Croatia's most
important economic partners as it is one of the few, besides Bosnia-
Herzegovina, with which it has a trade surplus.
The Croatian Chamber of Commerce chair, Nadan Vidosevic, said this
meeting continued what the Croatian and Yugoslav commerce chambers
started a year ago, and that the end result should be an increase of
trade to US$1 billion a year. He said liberalisation of the visa
regime will also increase trade between the countries.
Dusan Nikezic, assistant director of the agency for privatisation
of Serbia, explained the privatisation which began in Serbia last
year.
At the meeting were representatives of the most prominent companies
in Serbia, including the ZTP Beograd, Elektroprivreda Srbije,
Telekom Srbije, Neoplant, Elektropromet, Takovo from Milanovac,
representatives of various industrial branches and experts from
the ministry of the electric power industry.
(hina) np sb