ITALIAN DELEGATION VISITS ECONOMY, TOURISM MINISTRIES

ZAGREB, Sept 29 (Hina) - A delegation of Italy's autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, headed by the region's governor Robert Antonione, visited the Croatian ministries of economy and tourism on Friday. The delegation was welcomed at the Economy Ministry by Deputy Economy Minister Neven Mimica, who informed his guests about the macroeconomic situation in Croatia and the government's economic programme. Antonione reminded that Italy was Croatia's second-most important trade partner. Along with the region's political officials, the Italian delegation also included business people, representatives of companies and a regional association of industrialist. The Italian delegation expressed interest in investments in Croatia, stressing the important role of Italian banks in the privatisation of Croatia's banking sector. A member of the delegation, who is the president of the financial house 'Finvest', said a large financial group from Italy was interested in investing into Croatia, the Economy Ministry said in a statement. The Italian officials also visited the Tourism Ministry, where they were informed about this year's basic tourism developments, the course of the tourist season, the situation in privatisation and possible joint projects. Croatian officials called for cooperation in tourism. Both sides expressed interest in continuing their cooperation in the development of Croatia's private tourism sector, education of tourist workers and joint projects. (hina) rml