CROATIA, CHINA SIGN AGREEMENT ON CULTURAL COOPERATION

ZAGREB, Nov 7 (Hina) - Croatian Culture Minister Antun Vujic and his Chinese counterpart Sun Jiazheng signed a three-year programme of cultural and educational cooperation in Beijing on Tuesday. This is the third cooperation programme which defines concrete cooperation programmes in the next three years, in line with an agreement on cultural and educational cooperation, signed in 1993, the Croatian Culture Ministry reported. Vujic expressed confidence that the latest programme would additionally promote the already good cultural ties and called on the Chinese minister to pay a return visit to Croatia. The programme envisages, among else, art exhibitions, visits by musical and folklore troupes, the organisation of the Croatian Film Week in China and the Chinese Film Week in Croatia, and support for concrete cooperation between academies, writers and national libraries. Present at today's signing of the agreement was Croatian Ambassador to China, Zeljko Kirincic. Vujic, who is heading a Culture Ministry delegation on a visit to China, on Monday visited the Beijing Foreign Languages University, which as of this year includes a department for the Croatian language. Vujic donated books - a present by the Croatian Science and Technology Ministry - to the department. The Croatian delegation will tomorrow meet a vice-president of the All-Chinese People's Congress Permanent Committee, Bu He, who visited Croatia in 1994. (hina) rml