PRESIDENT MESIC HOLDS TALKS WITH BULGARIAN PREMIER

SOFIA, Sept 11 (Hina) - Croatia and Bulgaria should raise their economic relations to the level of their political cooperation, which is excellent, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic and Bulgarian Premier Simeon Saxe-Coburg agreed during talks in Sofia on Tuesday. During the talks with the new Bulgarian premier, the first heir to the throne from East Europe to be elected in a democratic general vote this June, Mesic also addressed some general projects, primarily the establishment of the Sofia-Zagreb air service and the cleaning of the Danube river. Mesic told reporters both countries confirmed the commitment to cooperate and help one another in achieving common goals. Asked by a Bulgarian reporter if the conflict in Macedonia would hamper the admission of the two countries to the European Union, Mesic said capital avoided crisis hotbeds. The Croatian president hopes people in the region have learned from the past conflict- ridden decade and now realise that misunderstandings are solved at the negotiating table and not on the front. Croatia and Bulgaria signed an agreement on economic cooperation in 1993 and a year later established a committee on economic cooperation. The two countries have signed 11 treaties since, including those on the stimulation and mutual protection of investments, the navigation on and maintenance of the Danube river system, transport and the avoidance of double taxation. The two countries have not signed a free trade agreement yet. The first round of talks on that agreement was held last June and the second round is expected to take place in Zagreb this week. The initialling of free trade agreements with Bulgaria and Romania enables Croatia to seek access to the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) because the country has already signed such agreements with other CEFTA members - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. (hina) sb rml