CEI REPS AGREE ON TOPICS FOR SOFIA CONFERENCE

( Editorial: --> 4524 ) SPLIT, April 3 (Hina) - Central European Initiative political directors on Friday agreed on topics to be discussed at a higher- level CEI conference in Sofia on May 22, thus ending a two-day meeting in Split. The most important topics at the conference in Sofia, to involve directors of foreign ministry political departments, will include cooperation between the CEI and the European Union, as well as the role of European and Euro-Atlantic institutions in maintaining safety in Europe, Croatian Foreign Ministry ambassador Mirjana Mladineo told reporters. Croatia, which is at the helm of the CEI, also informed the national coordinators of the 16 member states about preparations for the summit of foreign ministers to be held on June 5-6 at Brijuni. The Croatian Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Investments was also presented at the Split meeting. Also discussed was an initiative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to organise a business forum before the November summit of prime ministers and foreign ministers in Zagreb. The Split meeting also considered ways of improving cooperation between the CEI and other international institutions, and worked out the final draft of an agreement on cooperation between the CEI and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE). (Hina) jn jfk-as /mb 032215 MET apr 98