CRO FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT BELGIUM, GERMANY, POLAND, TURKEY IN FEB

ZAGREB, Jan 25 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula will visit Belgium, Germany, Turkey, and Poland in February, Croatian diplomatic sources in Zagreb told Hina on Thursday. Picula will hold lectures at seminars in Brussels and Munich, while he will visit Turkey and Poland as a part of President Stipe Mesic and Prime Minister Ivica Racan's entourage. The Foreign Minister will participate in a seminar on results of a non-governmental conference, which ended in Nica last year by the ministerial council and the expansion of the European Union, to be held in the European political studies' centre (EPSC) in Brussels on February 1 and 2. Also present will be French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, European Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Chris Patten, High Representatives for joint foreign and security policy of the European Union Javier Solana and other senior officials. Minister Picula will participate in a conference on security issues in Munich on February 3 and 4. Apart from the Croatian Foreign Minister, also present at the conference will be German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Javier Solana, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nadeza Mihajlova, Russian Defence Minister Igor Ivanov and his German colleague Rudolph Scharping. As a part of President Mesic's entourage, Picula will visit Turkey on February 7 and 8, while as a part of Prime Minister Racan's entourage, the foreign minister will visit Poland between February 11 and 13. In late February Picula will visit Brussels during a new round of negotiations on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Croatia and the European Union. Picula's bilateral visit to Spain is scheduled for March. (hina) it