SANADER RECEIVES JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTRY DELEGATION

ZAGREB, Mar 7 (Hina) - Croatian Deputy Foreign Minister Ivo Sanader on Friday received a delegation of the Japanese Foreign Ministry and the Japanese Agency for International Cooperation, headed by the manager of the Japanese Ministry's economic cooperation administration, Shuuchiro Megata, the Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The Japanese delegation's visit to Zagreb was a continuation of talks Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic held with his Japanese counterpart, Ikedo, in Tokyo last December, the statement said. During those talks, the Japanese side had shown interest for inclusion in projects concerning environment protection, the improvement of the health system, the social infrastructure and tourism in Croatia, the statement added. Sanader in particular stressed Croatia's satisfaction regarding the all-round development of political and economic relations with Japan. The Japanese delegation expressed interest for investing in the Croatian economy, as well as for the inclusion of Croatia in the Japanese Government's projects of Official Development Assistance, the statement by the Croatian Foreign Ministry concluded. (hina) ha mm 071417 MET mar 97