CROATIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES ITALIAN AMBASSADOR

( Editorial: --> 2585 ) ZAGREB, Sept 23 (Hina) - Croatian Deputy Foreign Minister Ivo Sanader on Wednesday received the Italian Ambassador to Croatia, Bruno Bottai, who is also the president of the Dante Alighieri association. The association has been established with the aim of promoting Italian language and culture all over the world. Sanader told Bottai that the successful completion of the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube River region rounded up the country's territorial integrity and established sovereignty on whole of Croatian territory, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Having resolved these important issues, Croatia now turns towards the fulfilment of strategic foreign policy issues - getting closer to central European, European and transatlantic associations, Sanader said. Croatia will also increase its efforts in economical development, and will pay special attention to the consolidation of cultural ties with neighbouring countries and the world. In that light, the Croatian government advocates the cooperation between Croatian and Italian cultural institutions, Sanader stressed. Bottai thanked Sanader for his support, and expressed hope that the two countries' cultural ties would strengthen further, the Foreign Ministry said. (hina) lml 231913 MET sep 98