OFFICIALS FROM VOJVODINA VISIT ISTRIA COUNTY

PULA, May 18 (Hina) - Delegations of Istria County and the Yugoslav autonomous province of Vojvodina, headed by Istria County prefect Ivan Jakovcic and Vojvodina parliament president Nenad Canak, met in Pula on Saturday within a two-day event, called "Days of Vojvodina in Istria". #L# Jakovcic said that Istrian officials had demonstrated a great interest in establishing new relations in South-East Europe by paying a visit to Vojvodina at the end of last year. The return visit of Vojvodina officials is seen in the same light, he added. The president of the Vojvodina Assembly, Nenad Canak, said that the initiative on establishing links between South-East European regions had already given good results. He announced that the initiative would soon be joined by the northern Bosnian Tuzla Canton. "The visit of the Istrian delegation has left a deep mark in our region because it has enabled us to establish and normalise relations with Croatian border counties without any major problems," Canak said, adding that this was the best proof that regional cooperation could do what inter-state cooperation could not. The concept of cooperation initiated by Istria and Vojvodina will lead to the stabilisation of the volatile region of South-East Europe, Canak said. Sasa Pasic, who headed a delegation of Vojvodina businessmen who held talks with their Croatian colleagues, stressed the need for liberalising the visa regime and establishing payment transactions between the two countries. The Yugoslav consul in Rijeka, Vukic Bulatovic, expressed hope that the visa regime would be cancelled by the end of the year. Vojvodina officials also visited the Pula-based Istrian branch of the Democratic Community of Hungarians of Croatia and the Istria County Serb Community. (hina) rml