INTERSTATE COUNCIL TO ENHANCE BOSNIAN-CROATIAN CO-OPERATION

SARAJEVO, May 30 (Hina) - A session of the Inter-State Council for Cooperation between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, scheduled for June 1 in Sarajevo, will be an occasion for the thorough reconsideration of the bilateral relations in view of that fact that little has been done since the council's last session. Diplomatic sources in the Bosnian capital say there is no excuse for missed chances for the improvement of the ties. The first topic of the agenda of the fourth session, chaired by Croatian President Stjepan Mesic and Bosnia's three-man Presidency chairman, Zivko Radisic, will be an analysis of what has been done since the last meeting held in Zagreb in 2000. "Unfortunately, this discussion will be reduced to the observation that between the two sessions only the new trade agreement started to be implemented," diplomatic sources told the Hina correspondent in Sarajevo. Following a stalemate in the trade, caused by the suspension of the 'war trade agreement', the implementation of the new deal produced good results in the first three months of 2001. The export from Croatia to Bosnia rose by 13 percent in the first quarter of 2001 as against the same period last year, while Bosnia's export to Croatia climbed by 78 percent. The trade between the two neighbours came to 135 million dollars in the first three months this year, as the tariffs for Bosnia's goods imported to Croatia have been rescinded since the end of 2000, whereas tariffs for Croatia's imports in Bosnia will gradually be annulled until 2004. The diplomatic source in Sarajevo has said Bosnian representatives are unsatisfied with the fact that no agreement has yet been reached on property-legal relations and on dual citizenship. "We shall insist on the settlement of the issue of the dual citizenship," the same source said. Sarajevo expects from the Croatian parliament to ratify an agreement on free transit through Neum (Bosnian coastal territory) and on access to the southern Croatian port of Ploce. As long as it is not done, the decision on the transit through Neum will be the matter of border police and customs officers who can cause sometimes unnecessary problems. The Croatian Sabor is also expected to ratify a border agreement. The issue of the refugee returns will be on the agenda as well. The situation in Bosnia in view of the bids to set up the so-called Croat self-rule in certain Croat-populated Bosnian areas is likely to be discussed by the Inter-State Council. Sarajevo expects from Croatia's top officials to reiterate their support to legal bodies of authority in Bosnia. President Stjepan Mesic will arrive in Sarajevo on Thursday afternoon when he should hold informal meetings with Bosnian intellectuals and artists. The official part of his visit commences on Friday with a meeting with the Bosnian Presidency. Ahead of his trip to Sarajevo, Mesic granted an interview to the Bosnian daily "Dnevni Avaz". In the interview he reiterated his opinion that now priority should be given to the full implementation of the Dayton peace accords rather than to their amendments. "Now, we must build peace, and the Dayton agreement may show its flaws in that field. In the current circumstances for me it seems crucial that the entities should not behave as states as they are not states nor have they been conceived as such," Mesic said. Croatia is committed to the equality of Bosnian Croats and their being constituent on the entire territory of Bosnia, and we shall continue help this cause in a completely transparent manner, the Croatian head of state added. (hina) ms