CRO ECONOMY MINISTER VISITS SPANISH EXPORT CREDIT FINANCING AGENCY

MADRID, July 21 (Hina) - The opening of new directions for improving economic cooperation between Spain and Croatia was the topic of talks Croatian Economy Minister Nenad Porges held with the president of the Spanish Export Credit Financing Agency, Antonio Quintano, in Madrid on Monday. Porges expressed gratitude to the Spanish agency for opening credit lines to Croatia in 1994, which was then for Croatia of extreme importance. Croatia is gradually passing into the third risk category, he added, which made guarantees for credits cheaper and simpler, which is the principle of the agency's work. According to Croatia's Economy Minister, very significant in assessing the risk of investing in Croatia is the speed at which the reintegration of the Danube region of eastern Croatia is progressing. Today's talks also focused on cooperation in several sectors with projects already in discussion, especially in shipbuilding and the railways, as well as tourism, Minister Porges added. He assessed the talks as satisfactory, and invited Quintano to visit Croatia at the head of Spanish economy delegation, in order to see first-hand the possibilities for expanding cooperation. Commodity exchange to date was not on the level the economies of Croatia and Spain deserve, Porges said. In 1997 it amounted to USD 70 million, of which USD 62 million accounted for Spain's export to Croatia, he added. According to the president of Spain's Export Credit Financing Agency, today's talks with Croatia's Porges were significant for improving the trust of Spanish financial institutions to invest in Croatia's development. According to Quintano, Spanish companies are particularly interested in cooperation in shipbuilding, projects related to the building of the infrastructure, the power supply industry, and transport. The Croatian delegation visiting Spain also included the president of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Nadan Vidosevic, and the executive manager of Croatia's Investment Stimulation Agency, Vanja Kalogjera. The Croatian delegation later visited Spain's Financing and Development Agency. In the afternoon, Porges should meet with Spain's State Secretary for Trade, Tourism, and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise, Jose Manuel Norniello. (hina) ha 211350 MET jul 97