CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ENDS VISIT TO CHINA

BEIJING/ZAGREB, March 23 (Hina) - Croatia's Foreign Minister Tonino Picula, who ended his week-long visit to China on Friday, said the two countries have concluded there is a high degree of agreement in their stances regarding a number of current international issues, and have managed to achieve better economic cooperation. "We think that we will very soon, maybe even next year, feel everything that we agreed on with our hosts regarding trade," Picula told Hina ahead of his departure from China. During Picula's visit, the Zagreb and Beijing chambers of commerce signed a cooperation agreement "which will create opportunities for the economies of both countries," to present themselves better than they have done so far, the foreign minister said. He stressed that during his talks with Chinese officials, the two sides agreed it was possible to develop cooperation between the two countries if the starting point is consideration of mutual interests, and geographical distance cannot be an obstacle for connections. Picula invited his Chinese counterpart to visit Croatia, which he accepted and said he might make the visit next year. (hina) lml