CROATIAN CRAFTSMEN ATTENDING MUNICH FAIR

MUNICH, March 16 (Hina) - Europe's largest crafts fair, the international fair of crafts which opened in Munich on Thursday, is another opportunity for Croatia to present the possibility and potential of its crafts and entrepreneurship. The fair gathers 2,478 exhibitors from 43 countries, including 56 official and some 50 other ones from Croatia. Croatia's Minister for Crafts, Small and Medium Sized Entrepreneurshp, Zeljko Pecek, attended. Before visiting the fair, Pecek and Croatian Chamber of Crafts president Stjepan Safran held talks with the state secretary at Bavaria's Ministry of Economy, Transportation and Technology, Hans Spitzner. Spitzner endorsed Croatia's initiative to possibly increase the participation of Croatian manufacturers in well-known Bavarian products. Talks are in course on the possible delivery of car parts for BMW and Audi. To continue with the talks, Croatia is expected to say which manufacturers can make the deliveries, Croatia's consul general in Munich Ivan Simek said. Pecek and Spitzner agreed the unused potential of co-operation was high. Croatia is about to change tax legislation by reducing profit, income and value added tax, and ensure that re-investing be exempt from taxation. Foreign investors will also be attracted through special incentives. The Czech, Hungarian and Irish models are being studied to that end. (hina) ha jn