DUBROVNIK DUBROVNIK, Jan 17 (Hina) - A preparatory meeting of experts on the Adriatic-Ionian motorway was held in the southern Croatian town of Dubrovnik on Monday. The event, which gathered 20 delegations of countries and
international organisations engaged in the project, was organised by Croatia's Foreign Ministry. The purpose of the meeting was to establish what has been done so far and stimulate a more organised approach to the project so that more concrete steps are made in the construction of the motorway, which should link all countries along the eastern Adriatic coast from Italy to Greece. The idea about the construction of this road was launched a year ago at a Croatian-Greek ministerial meeting in Athens. The motorway will be a 1,200-kilometre-long road running from Trieste to the town of Igumenica, Greece, and a 570-kilometre-long section should pass through Croatia. The project was pre
DUBROVNIK, Jan 17 (Hina) - A preparatory meeting of experts on the
Adriatic-Ionian motorway was held in the southern Croatian town of
Dubrovnik on Monday.
The event, which gathered 20 delegations of countries and
international organisations engaged in the project, was organised
by Croatia's Foreign Ministry.
The purpose of the meeting was to establish what has been done so far
and stimulate a more organised approach to the project so that more
concrete steps are made in the construction of the motorway, which
should link all countries along the eastern Adriatic coast from
Italy to Greece.
The idea about the construction of this road was launched a year ago
at a Croatian-Greek ministerial meeting in Athens. The motorway
will be a 1,200-kilometre-long road running from Trieste to the
town of Igumenica, Greece, and a 570-kilometre-long section should
pass through Croatia.
The project was presented together by Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Slovenia, and Albania at the first session of a working table for
economic recovery, development, and cooperation within the
Stability Pact for South-East Europe, held in Bari on 9 October
1999.
Participants in today's meeting told reporters they had agreed to
form an expert group which would draw up economic and traffic
analyses for the further study of the project within the Stability
Pact. The group will be open to all international organisations and
countries wishing to observe or participate in the implementation
of the project. It will be chaired by Croatia and its other members
will be Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania and Montenegro.
An assistant to Croatia's foreign minister, Vladimir Drobnjak,
said today's session did not have only economic but also political
significance, as it was the first time for this region to send a
joint message to all participants in the Stability Pact, the entire
international community and international investment circles that
it was very interested in the Adriatic-Ionian motorway and that all
countries in the region were ready to work together in the
implementation of this ambitious project.
According to Drobnjak, a separate document defining the motorway as
a corridor within the system of pan-European corridors will be
signed.
"Croatia has been given the mandate to report about today's
conclusions and seek financial support for the drawing up of
feasibility studies for the project at the next meeting of
Stability Pact countries, to be held in Skopje in February," said
Drobnjak. The topics of today's meeting will also be discussed at
the next meeting of the expert group, to take place in Greece in
three months, Drobnjak added.
Croatia's Deputy Foreign Minister Ivo Sanader said his country
viewed the motorway as an inseparable part of broad trans-European
continental communication and as a transport net linking the
European economies in political, social and cultural sense.
"This idea was initiated by the outgoing government (of Croatia),
and I believe the new authorities will have the will and strength
for this project," Sanader said.
(hina) ms/rml