SARAJEVO, July 27 (Hina) - Croatia's Premier Ivica Racan and the chairman of Bosnia-Herzegovina's Council of Ministers, Spasoje Tusevljak, signed two agreements in Sarajevo on Thursday, one on cooperation between the Croatian
government and the Council in the turnover and admittance of persons in illegal sojourn, and one on customs cooperation. The two countries' foreign ministers, Croatia's Tonino Picula and BH's Jadranko Prlic, signed a protocol on cooperation between the two ministries. The agreements, the signatories said, will advance Croatia-BH relations.
SARAJEVO, July 27 (Hina) - Croatia's Premier Ivica Racan and the
chairman of Bosnia-Herzegovina's Council of Ministers, Spasoje
Tusevljak, signed two agreements in Sarajevo on Thursday, one on
cooperation between the Croatian government and the Council in the
turnover and admittance of persons in illegal sojourn, and one on
customs cooperation.
The two countries' foreign ministers, Croatia's Tonino Picula and
BH's Jadranko Prlic, signed a protocol on cooperation between the
two ministries.
The agreements, the signatories said, will advance Croatia-BH
relations.#L#
Premier Racan said Croatia's national interest was to advance
cooperation with neighbours, and that "cooperation with friendly
BH is a priority."
"We want to contribute to the stability of BH as an independent,
democratic state which preserves the equality of its three
constituent peoples," he said, adding "Croatia will be stable if BH
as an integral state is stable."
According to the premier, Croatia's government wants to build
relations with friendly BH transparently and support BH's
integration into Europe. He announced Croatia and BH would sign
agreements on trade and property-rights relations by year's end.
Racan said Croatia and BH had many common interests which called for
intensified cooperation on joint projects. He added Croatia
supported the building of a Budapest-Osijek-Sarajevo-Ploce
highway because it would connect Croatia and BH with the Central
European region and help them integrate with European structures.
According to Racan, Croatia wants the enforcement of an agreement
giving BH access to the southern Croatian port of Ploce. He added
its enforcement had come to a standstill due to technical reasons.
Racan also advocated the return of all Croatian refugees to Croatia
regardless of their nationality, as well as the return of all BH
citizens to BH, especially Croats to its Serb entity.
The Croatian premier said he personally supported the
reintegration of the southern Bosnian town of Mostar, which he will
visit tomorrow. Later today, he and competent institutions in
Sarajevo should discuss how to supervise the use of money Croatia is
sending in the form of assistance to the Croat component of the army
of BH's Croat-Muslim federation.
Supporting the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe, Racan stated
the expectations for the pact had perhaps been too high. He said he
was dissatisfied with some processes in the pact because they were
too slow or stagnating.
Responding to questions from the press, the Croatian premier said
he was concerned about the situation in the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia because President Slobodan Milosevic's regime did not
guarantee democratic relations in the region. He added Montenegro
and its people were entitled to choose the government and strategy
they wanted.
Reporters asked the chairman of BH's Council of Ministers, Spasoje
Tusevljak, what he was going to do to boost returns of Bosnian
Croats and Muslims to the Bosnian Serb entity. He said significant
steps would be taken to that effect, and that we "have to
demonstrate civilisational standards, without restrictions,
frustrations, or misconceptions."
BH's Council of Ministers today formulated a budget revision to
earmark additional funds for refugee returns, Tusevljak added.
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