CROATIAN HEAD OF STATE ARRIVES IN NEW YORK

NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Hina) - Croatian President Stipe Mesic arrived in New York on the night between Friday and Saturday to attend the 56th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly. During his short stay in New York, Mesic will hold several bilateral talks of which the most important one is with the US President, George W. Bush. The Mesic-Bush talks, to be held in new and dramatic circumstances in the world, is a recognition to our country and the confirmation that the United States did not forget about countries which are not in the direct zone of the new conflict, Croatian Ambassador to the US Ivan Grdesic said. Croatian head of state, along with other presidents and prime ministers present in New York, will attend a dinner given by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Mesic will also hold talks with Albanian President Rexep Meidani and the chairman of the Bosnian Council of Ministers Zlatko Lagumdzija. On Sunday, Mesic will meet the president of the Palestinian self-government Jaser Arafat. Later that day, the Croatian President will speak at the UN General Assembly session. Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula is also in New York. He will hold talks with his counterparts from Algeria and Austria. (hina) it