ZAGREB, Sept 27 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan on Wednesday returned from London where he took part in a convention of the British Labour Party as president of the Croatian Social Democratic Party, and held talks with
British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and other British officials.
ZAGREB, Sept 27 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan on
Wednesday returned from London where he took part in a convention of
the British Labour Party as president of the Croatian Social
Democratic Party, and held talks with British Prime Minister, Tony
Blair, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and other British officials.
#L#
I am satisfied with my visit to London and the speech at the Labour
Party convention, and especially with talks I held with British
officials," Racan said having arrived at Zagreb's airport.
He expressed particular satisfaction with talks he held with Prime
Minister Blair and Secretary Cook, which focused on Britain's
assistance in Croatia's joining European associations, the support
of British financial institutions to the affirmation of Croatia's
rating and the strengthening of economic cooperation and trade with
an accent on cooperation in tourism.
Racan announced Secretary Cook would visit Croatia in October.
"In talks with British leaders I especially pointed out the need of
strengthening economic cooperation and trade," Racan asserted,
stressing the importance of British financial and economic
institutions in the issue of investments and increasing the number
of tourists in Croatia.
The British side pledged to support Croatia in its drawing closer to
the European Union, and expressed readiness to other views of
assistance, Racan said, assessing his visit to London had confirmed
that the cooperation between Croatia and Great Britain was
increasingly better.
He also announced Tony Blair would visit Croatia following the
Zagreb Summit in November, as well as Britain's education and
employment secretary, David Blanckett.
Croatian Tourism Minister Pave Zupan Ruskovic will travel to Great
Britain for a visit next week.
Racan stressed that the stances and views he had expressed in his
speech at the 101st convention of Britain's ruling Labour Party had
been well received.
In his speech Racan presented the politics of the ruling party
coalition in Croatia and the Social Democratic Party's policy and
tackled current issues, especially the situation in Croatia's
neighbouring Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, assessing that
"(FRY's president Slobodan) Milosevic is for the first time
entering a conflict with his own people".
Asked about the intention of the Council of Europe to lift sanctions
off Yugoslavia, notwithstanding the results of the recent
elections, Racan said "the West sometimes has illusions that fast
changes are possible and that Milosevic will step down easily".
"Everything that is happening in Serbia testifies that this is not
so and that Milosevic find any resistance he can," he said, warning
that at this moment "he could be doing this by rigging election
results, tomorrow he will maybe be more direct".
Besides his participation in the conference and talks with his
hosts, Prime Minister Racan used his stay in London to visit the
London stock exchange and the Lloyd company, concluding that
Britain's capital was the "financial centre of the world, which is
another reason for cooperation".
(hina) lml