PANKRATIC URGES CONCLUSION OF FREE TRADE DEAL WITH BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, June 13 (Hina) - Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have the mutual interest in developing as much better economic cooperation as possible, but a basic pre-condition for this is that Zagreb and Sarajevo make agreement on free trade, said Croatian Agriculture Minister Bozidar Pankratic in Sarajevo where he was on an official visit on Tuesday. During his stay in Sarajevo Minister Pankratic held talks with Bosnia-Herzegovina's Foreign Trade Minister, Mirsad Kurtovic, the Croat-Moslem Federation's Agriculture Minister Ahmed Smajic and Finance Minister Dragan Covic. "These were exceptionally friendly talks and we absolutely agreed on many issues," Pankretic told reporters. Pankratic added that it was the task of both countries to complete and conclude a deal on free trade. In this way, the lion's share of economic problems will be solved, he said. Pankratic reiterated that his country was interested in exporting its agricultural produce in Bosnia and that the system of barter should maintain the balance between exports and imports between the two countries. Smajic and Pankratic considered a possibility that in case Croatian wheat be exported to Bosnia, Bosnia can "pay" it by exports of power supplies, coal or salt in Croatia. The federal agriculture official advocated that Croatia's market opened for Bosnian agricultural produce. (hina) jn ms