PAVLETIC-OPEN ROAD TOWARDS STRENGTHENING COOPERATION WITH IRAN

TEHERAN, Oct 29 (Hina) - Croatian National Sabor's (parliament) president Vlatko Pavletic on Thursday expressed his satisfaction with his visit to Iran so far, and with the talks with Iranian officials. Pavletic asserted the visit opened the road towards strengthening cooperation with Iran, which has an extremely important part in the region, and which has been opening more towards the world of late. Pavletic arrived to Iran on Monday at the head of a Sabor delegation, for a five-day official visit, which is the first visit of a Croatian delegation to that country at that level. Pavletic held talks with Iranian Parliament president Natek Nouri, the president of the Council of Usefulness Hansemi Rafsandzani, Foreign Minister Kemal Harazi, and Iranian President Mohamad Hatami. Pavletic held a lecture at the international research and study centre in Teheran, and met with members of the Iranian Academy of Arts and Sciences. He asserted that Iran is in a very slow but gradual process of opening to the world. Iran's political leadership includes people who openly consider the need of accepting globalization as a necessary process, simultaneously protecting independence. According to Pavletic, this formula is absolutely acceptable for Croatia as well, and there is no doubt that other countries are accepting it too. He also said the Sabor delegation held talks on economic cooperation. The signing of an agreement on special relations between Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina will contribute the strengthening economic cooperation given the good relations between Bosnian Muslims and Iran, Pavletic said. Pavletic believes an agreement on cultural, educational and scientific cooperation, signed during Croatian Culture Minister Bozo Biskupic's recent visit to Iran, would help the development of Croatian-Iranian relations. (hina) it/ha