CROATIA AND BOSNIA NEGOTIATE ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT

ZAGREB, Nov 19 (Hina) - The Croatian Government adopted a draft agreement on economic cooperation between Croatia and Bosnia- Herzegovina, but due to various subjective and objective circumstances, it has not been forwarded to the Bosnia-Herzegovina Council of Ministers yet, Croatian Economy Minister Nenad Porges said on Thursday. After a meeting with the Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mirsad Kurtovic, Porges stressed that Croatia is exerting efforts to have two already initialled agreements signed - on special relations between Croatia and the Croat-Bosniak (Moslem) Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and an agreement on the free use of Croatia's harbour of Ploce by Bosnian citizens and the free passage through the southern Bosnian town of Neum for Croatian citizens. The two ministers met during the first Central European Initiative Summit Economic Forum (CEI SEF) in Zagreb on Thursday. The draft agreement on economic cooperation introduces some characteristics of free trade into the trade relations between the two countries, Porges said, adding that he expected the Croatian draft to be forwarded to the Council of Ministers of Bosnia- Herzegovina by the end of the year. The two ministers also tackled an expansion in cooperation and a decrease in the trade deficit at the expense of Bosnia- Herzegovina. (hina) lml mm